tongueriver_ponds_2003_2x.tif
Whats In The Photo:Landsat-7 satellite image taken on April 21, 2003 showing the area between the Tongue River (left) and lower Prairie Dog Creek (right) in Sheridan County, Wyoming. Compare with matching 1999 image. By this time many CBM wells have been drilled in this area (the system of dirt access roads appears as a chaotic network of fine, pale lines). Unlike Utah, the state of Wyoming does not require that the water produced from CBM wells be injected back into the ground, so much of the produced water is being held in large retention ponds (blue spots scattered throughout the image). Some of these were pre-existing small reservoirs, originally built by ranchers in stream channels to capture snowmelt for watering livestock, that have been enlarged to hold CBM water. Many are new ponds constructed off-channel specifically for the CBM operation (these are typically larger). Wyoming - Montana border is shown by brown line at top. Image is 5 miles across.
Caption:CBM Retention Ponds, Powder River Basin, Wyoming - 2003 (2x zoom)
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Photographer Name:John Amos
Organization Name:SkyTruth
Credit For Photo:organization