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United States of America

The Powder River basin, located in northeast Wyoming and southeast Montana, is a core area of coal and natural gas production in the United States. Coal mining activities in the basin date back to 1975. In recent years, surface mining in Wyoming has mushroomed, making it the leading coal producer in America at almost 300 000 tonnes per year. Similarly, coal bed methane gas development in this region is unrivaled in the U.S. The images show areas under coal exploitation. Notable is the remarkable increase in mining operations in the 2001 image. Reasons for the expansion include improvements in the area's rail network, the high grade of the coal deposits, and the depletion of high-grade deposits in other major coal mining areas such as West Virginia and Kentucky. The open cast coal mines appear as white-purplish while the reddish brown areas are bare ground. Vegetated areas are green. View detailed information