Stories from the Landsat archive. Deep dives into the geography, science, and art of satellite letterforms.
In western Alaska, the Yukon River shatters into hundreds of channels before reaching the Bering Sea — a delta so finely braided that, in winter, frozen tributaries draw the unmistakable bowl of an A across 25,000 km² of tundra. One of the 71 letterforms in Your Name in Landsat.
Read more
The Shenandoah bends through the Blue Ridge in three near-perfect switchbacks, drawing — from orbit — a lowercase m. The loops were carved over millions of years as the river found the path of least resistance through soft limestone. Featured in Your Name in Landsat.
Read more
Six miles wide, almost geometrically circular, 594 m deep — Crater Lake fills the caldera left by the violent collapse of Mount Mazama, 7,700 years ago. Landsat sees it as a sapphire eye in the Oregon forest. A perfect O in Your Name in Landsat.
Read more
In northwest Greenland, three glaciers converge into Wolstenholme Fjord, their flow lines crossing in a pale, wind-scrubbed X. Landsat has watched this place for fifty years; in that time the ice front has retreated 2.5 km. Part of Your Name in Landsat.
Read more
Since 1972, Landsat satellites have orbited Earth every 16 days, capturing multispectral images that reveal far more than the human eye can see. Here's how the program behind Your Name in Landsat works and why it matters.
Read more