i’m starting to think that anything can look interesting provided you get the right angle.

center pivot irrigation is basically a method of agricultural irrigation which results in a circular field of crops. a huge column of sprinklers, fixed to the ground at one end, slowly travels around in a circle whilst spraying the crops below. you can see the sprinkler arms, some of which can reach a kilometre in length, in the photo below.

idaho, united states :: picture from wikipedia :: area on google maps

it’s a fairly unremarkable sight, as you can see. however, as you gain some altitude these circular fields start to look more and more surreal and just unbelievably brilliant, especially in areas where these systems are commonplace and visible en masse from the sky. check these pictures out and make sure you follow the google maps links as some of these photos don’t do the areas justice. also, zoom in when looking at the libyan example - it’s part of the ‘great manmade river‘ project - and tell me what those hexagonal features are to the left of the crops…

wadi rum, jordan :: picture from astrosurf :: area on google maps

nevada, united states :: picture from flickr :: area on google maps

sahara desert, libya :: picture from flickr :: area on google maps

al kuhayfiyah, saudi arabia :: picture from google maps

kansas, united states :: picture from wikipedia :: area on google maps