For those working in remote sensing or GIS, Landsat is a familiar name: since 1972, this long-running land observation satellite program has accumulated a vast archive of imagery, serving as a critical data source for monitoring surface changes and conducting long-term time-series analysis. While the data itself can be downloaded from various platforms, connecting satellite images to real-world stories requires considerable effort. Recently, the editor discovered that the USGS maintains a thematic website at the EROS Center called Earthshots, which selects about 100 distinctive locations around the world and uses satellite imagery to showcase land surface changes over time. The editor finds it quite interesting and would like to recommend it.
Introduction to Earthshots
Earthshots is a thematic website developed by the U.S. Geological Survey's Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center, designed to observe changes in human activities and the natural environment at larger spatial scales. Some changes occur rapidly, such as earthquakes, volcanoes, floods, and landslides, while others are very slow and difficult to grasp through ground observation alone. Multi-temporal satellite imagery fills this gap perfectly. Currently, the website features over one hundred unique locations worldwide, each with clickable satellite image time series showing changes at that site.
Official website address:
Official website: https://eros.usgs.gov/earthshots
Extraction password: malagis.com
Featured Locations in China
Currently, Earthshots provides six case studies in China:
Beijing – primarily illustrating urban expansion.
Pearl River Delta – covering Dongguan, Guangzhou-Foshan, Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, and more.
Shanghai – showcasing urban sprawl, Nanhui New City, and other themes.
Shiyan – focusing on Danjiangkou Reservoir, the middle route of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project, and mountain flattening.
Three Gorges Dam – mainly showing the dam complex and reservoir area changes.
Yellow River Delta – illustrating channel shifts, Dongying, and other themes.
Background Knowledge
The Landsat series has continuously acquired land observation data since 1972, with millions of global scenes archived and managed by the USGS EROS Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The imagery displayed in Earthshots is curated from this Landsat archive. For GIS and remote sensing students, this is excellent supplementary material that aligns spectral bands, time phases, and real-world events.
Additionally, the official site prominently recommends the Mount St. Helens feature, which shows the dramatic topographic and landscape changes before and after the 1980 eruption, as well as the gradual vegetation recovery. The page sequences multiple Landsat images, allowing readers to visually compare differences at the same location across different years.
Summary
If you are a beginner in GIS or remote sensing, the editor highly recommends exploring Earthshots as a "remote sensing version of a geographic documentary": seeing the same place with new images every few years gives you an intuitive understanding of time-series imagery and land surface change, and makes it easier to connect classroom concepts like band combinations, image composites, and classification to the real world.
If you are simply bored, it is also worth playing around: click on any spot on the globe, like opening a blind box, and you will often uncover unexpected change stories. If you are still bored, try this official interactive site: Explore the new Landsat tool: turn your name into map art