Saudi Arabia/Oman/Yemen/United Arab Emirates
Rub’ al Khali is the biggest sand desert worldwide, covering over 650,000 square kilometers. The desert, known as The Empty Quarter, spreads over Saudi Arabia, Oman, Yemen and the United Arab Emirates. The picture from above shows the centre of the region, where once used to be shallow lakes.
Photo: Benjamin Grant / Daily Overview / Amphoto Books / DigitalGlobe
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
The Palm Jumeirah is Dubai’s first artificial island, created using 7 million tons of rock and approximately 4.3 billion cubic yards of sand. Today, about 26,000 people live here.
Photo: Benjamin Grant / Daily Overview / Amphoto Books / DigitalGlobe
Netherlands
The province of Flevoland is an exclusive farming location in Netherlands designed by Zuiderzee Works. The company wanted a place special for the growth and development of flower bulbs; today, Flevoland is the largest artificial island on the globe.
Photo: Benjamin Grant / Daily Overview / Amphoto Books / DigitalGlobe
Singapore
Dozens of ships and tankers are waiting to enter the Port of Singapore. Some of the ships weigh over 300,000 tons, making this location the second busiest port worldwide when it comes to total tonnage. Starting here, half of the annual quantity of crude oil is shipped around the globe.
Photo: Benjamin Grant / Daily Overview / Amphoto Books / DigitalGlobe
France
The unique street plan of Paris is based on Emperor Napoleon III’s desire to focus on diagonal avenues, squares and aqueducts. In order to make this happen, the former leader destroyed dozens of medieval neighborhoods, considering that they were bad for the city architecture.
Photo: Benjamin Grant / Daily Overview / Amphoto Books / DigitalGlobe
Australia
Western Australia is the home of the beautiful, colorful region of Pilbara. Here is the Mount Whaleback Iron Ore Mine; 98% of the mined iron ore extracted from this place is turned into steel, which makes it one of the most important areas of the continent.
Photo: Benjamin Grant / Daily Overview / Amphoto Books / DigitalGlobe
Argentina
Here are about 2,3 square miles of the Perito Moreno Glacier located in the Santa Cruz Province. The region, which is a giant field, is entirely frozen and it is the third largest reserve of fresh water in the world.
Photo: Benjamin Grant / Daily Overview / Amphoto Books / DigitalGlobe
Utah
The Spiral Jetty is a 1,500 foot long spiral sculpture starting off from the shore of the Great Salt Lake and continuing into the water. The author of the earthwork, Robert Smithson, chose the location due to the vibrant pink colour of the lake – which is naturally given by bacteria and algae.
Photo: Benjamin Grant / Daily Overview / Amphoto Books / DigitalGlobe
Chile
Located in the Antofagasta Region, Chuquicamata is the biggest open-pit copper mine worldwide. With a depth of over 2,890 feet, about 29 million tons of copper have been extracted from this place since today.
Photo: Benjamin Grant / Daily Overview / Amphoto Books / DigitalGlobe
China
Somewhere in the Taklimakan Desert is the Lop Nur Potash Ponds, one of the most impressive agricultural projects around the world. The desert contains a large quantity of potassium salt, which is extremely helpful in the growth of plants, as well as a great fertilizer. The salt is extracted from underground brines and then dried in giant solar ponds. The big contrast of colours seen in this photo is caused by the bright blue color of the water, which is dyed because darker colors would absorb more heat, which makes the process last longer.
Photo: Benjamin Grant / Daily Overview / Amphoto Books / DigitalGlobe