Have you ever wondered what the United States looks like from a bird's-eye view? I recently had the incredible opportunity to experience just that. Flying from the bustling metropolis of New York City on the East coast to the vibrant city of San Francisco on the West coast, I was fortunate enough to snag a window seat on a perfectly clear day. As the plane soared higher and higher, I was treated to a breathtaking panoramic view of the vast and diverse, continental USA. To capture these awesome views, I took these photos with my phone camera at various points during my journey. Here's a collection of my favorite shots.
This post is a compilation of photos and messages that I sent to my parents while I was on the plane, so don't judge my writing skills too harshly! Look at the map at the bottom of the page to see the locations of these places and to see more photos.
Above New Jersey
(-74.144, 40.774)
Just took off. Northern New Jersey looks very nice from above on this clear day. Full points if you can find and recognise Manhattan!
Lake Erie and Buffalo
(-79.488, 42.515)
Flying over lake Erie. The dense clump of buildings you see at the back is Buffalo. Behind it on the horizon you can see Lake Ontario.
To snow or not to snow
(-81.216, 42.664)
Over Canada now. It has snowed in the northern part of this photo but not in the southern part. See how stark the contrast is between the brownish fields at the bottom of the photo and the snowy white fields higher up. The water body you see in the corner is Lake Huron.
Lake Huron
(-82.468, 42.819)
Another one of Lake Huron. This is at the bottom-most tip of the lake. The river you see here connects Lake Huron to Lake Erie. It is also the border between USA and Canada. To the left of that river is Michigan and to the right of it is whatever part of Canada borders the lake.
Circular Rainbow
(-86.845, 42.845)
Crossing the peninsula that is Michigan. we come to great lake 4/5 - Lake Michigan. Unfortunately it was getting very cloudy and I didn't get too good of a view. Directly above lake Michigan now. It would have been a great view had it not been for the clouds. The people on the other side of the plane can see Chicago on that shore of the lake. But it wasn't all bad for me because I got to see a circular rainbow from the plane. Looked very nice with the naked eye but it didn't come out too well in the image.
Mississippi on the border
(-91.141, 43.052)
One of the great North American rivers - The Mississippi. In this photo it is the border between Wisconsin (right) and Iowa (left). It forms the border between Minnesota and Wisconsin in the north and also between all the states it passes through all the way to the gulf of Mexico. That's why these states don't have straight line borders.
Farmland squares
(-92.906, 43.126)
Pieces of farmland as far as the eye can see in Iowa. One of the sad reminders of the European settlement of the new world. I'm sure the native Americans weren't too happy seeing their lands cut up into square pieces and given to the white settlers moving eastward. (Northwest Ordinance)
Gavins point dam
(-97.397, 42.871)
This is the Missouri river right on the border between south Dakota and Nebraska. In this picture you can see the Gavins point dam and the reservoir behind it. (Yankton, SD)
Confluence
(-98.032, 42.766)
Here you can see the confluence of the Niobara and Missouri rivers. Again on the Nebraska - south Dakota border.
Arrid Nebraska
(-102.62, 41.497)
Nebraska and Wyoming then became very dry for a long time. Just dry hilly regions for miles and miles
Red feather lakes
(-105.562, 40.983)
I took this photo in Colorado. It's the edge of what Wikipedia calls "red feather lakes".
The Rockies
(-106.284, 40.732)
And then we hit the rocky mountains. It was weird seeing snow capped peaks after just seeing dryness for so long.
Nephi
(-111.836, 39.71)
After we passed the Rockies. Utah was again very dry and hilly. Here you can see a small town called Nephi in between these two mountain ranges. There's a lake you can see beyond that. Beyond that, over the horizon is salt lake city.
Dryyyy
(-117.231, 38.069)
Nevada was a bone dry place. Just lots of desert.
The Sierra Nevadas
(-118.976, 38.013)
The reason it's so dry is because it falls directly in the rain shadow of these things. The sierra nevada mountains. It blocks the rain stops clouds from entering this nevada. That's why California on the other side is relatively more green. You can also see a picture of Mono lake.
Livermore
(-121.768, 37.682)
Finally in California. This lake looked nice. Behind the lake is the city of Livermore, where there is a big Hindu temple.
San Francisco International Airport
(-122.379, 37.621)
After 5.5 hours of flying - San Jose! Just before landing at the airport we got a view of the SF bay. This is the San Mateo bridge.
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