Intensity Of Land Use Near Tonguan, Shaanxi, China
5 September 2006

Note: SPOT-5 Image
The reduced resolution image on display has undergone compression and so does not represent the true resolution of the original satellite image.

This area is located near the Huanghe, which flows immediately to the north of the image. Two steep ridges running north-south are separated by a flat plain in the middle. All the flat land is intensely farmed. Settlements are in large clusters on the plain, connected to each other by roads. Farming continues up to the edge of the steep ridges. Where the ridges have been eroded back by small streams, amphitheatre-like valleys are also under intensive farming. Even the upper slopes have been terraced, regardless of the steep gradient. A road crossed the western ridge in a series of hairpin bends, indicating how steep the ridges are.