Start Date: End Date: Published Date Data Date
Data acquired March 18, 2006 540 x 405 JPEG
Data acquired March 18, 2006 4000 x 4000 5 MB - JPEG
342 x 228 JPEG
Since the mid- to late 1990s, the number and size of coal mines known as mountaintop removal mines increased dramatically in parts of Virginia, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Kentucky. The final step in processing this coal creates sludge that contains coal dust, sediment, and possibly heavy metals and chemicals. Mine operators contain the coal sludge in nearby valleys, behind huge earthen dams known as valley fills.
IKONOS satellite image by Val Webb, ©2006 Geoeye. © All Rights Reserved: Use of IKONOS, GeoEye, QuickBird and WorldView imagery must be coordinated with Maxar.
Published April 25, 2008 Data acquired March 18, 2006