Earth from Space - Image Information


LOCATION Direction Photo #: ISS013-E-14843 Date: May 2006
Geographic Region: USA-MICHIGAN
Feature: ROGERS CITY,LIMESTONE QUARRY


IMAGE
 
Calcite Quarry, Michigan

While the Great Lakes region of North America is well known for its importance to shipping between the United States, Canada, and the Atlantic Ocean, it is also the location of an impressive structure in the continent's bedrock: the Michigan Basin. Formed during the Paleozoic Era (approximately 540-250 million years ago) the Basin looks much like a large bullseye defined by the arrangement of exposed rock layers that all tilt inwards, forming a huge bowl-shaped structure. While this "bowl" is not readily apparent from the ground, detailed mapping of the rock units on a regional scale revealed the structure to geologists. The outer layers of the Basin include thick deposits of carbonates--rocks containing carbon and oxygen, such as limestone--deposited over millions of years when a shallow sea covered the region.

These carbonate rocks are mined throughout the Great Lakes region using large open-pit mines. The largest carbonate mine in the world, Calcite Quarry, appears in this astronaut photograph. The mine has been active for over 85 years. The worked area (grey region in image center) measures approximately 7 kilometers long by 4 kilometers wide, and it is crossed by several access roads (white). The rocks are processed to create crushed aggregate, building stone, soil enhancers, lime, additives to steel, and a host of other products. Calcite Quarry ships between 7 and 10.5 million tons of material each year, thanks to the quarry's location on the shores of Lake Huron. Nearby Rogers City was once a typical mining company town, but over time it has expanded its economic base as a summer retreat for sailing and tourism.


Images: All Available Images Low-Resolution 277k
Mission: ISS013  
Roll - Frame: E - 14843
Geographical Name: USA-MICHIGAN  
Features: ROGERS CITY,LIMESTONE QUARRY  
Center Lat x Lon: 45.4N x 83.8W
Film Exposure:   N=Normal exposure, U=Under exposed, O=Over exposed, F=out of Focus
Percentage of Cloud Cover-CLDP: 10
 
Camera:: E4
 
Camera Tilt: 37   LO=Low Oblique, HO=High Oblique, NV=Near Vertical
Camera Focal Length: 800  
 
Nadir to Photo Center Direction: S   The direction from the nadir to the center point, N=North, S=South, E=East, W=West
Stereo?:   Y=Yes there is an adjacent picture of the same area, N=No there isn't
Orbit Number: 2665  
 
Date: 20060506   YYYYMMDD
Time: 211724   GMT HHMMSS
Nadir Lat: 47.6N  
Latitude of suborbital point of spacecraft
Nadir Lon: 84.4W  
Longitude of suborbital point of spacecraft
Sun Azimuth: 256   Clockwise angle in degrees from north to the sun measured at the nadir point
Space Craft Altitude: 183   nautical miles
Sun Elevation: 35   Angle in degrees between the horizon and the sun, measured at the nadir point
Land Views:  
Water Views: LAKE  
Atmosphere Views:  
Man Made Views: MINING  
City Views:  

Photo is not associated with any sequences


NASA
Home Page
JSC
Home Page
JSC Digital
Image Collection
Earth Science &
Remote Sensing

NASA meatball logo
This service is provided by the International Space Station program and the JSC Earth Science & Remote Sensing Unit, ARES Division, Exploration Integration Science Directorate.
ESRS logo