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Natural Resources Canada > Earth Sciences Sector > Priorities > Canada Centre for Remote Sensing
Tour Canada from space Rocky View, Alberta
 The regular shapes of agricultural fields can clearly be seen in this 10 metre resolution SPOT (panchromatic) image. Some of the fields have very distinctive patterns, which can indicate farming techniques, or surface topography. It is possible to determine if a field has been harvested, or if it is still in crop, although the identification of exact crop types is better served through multispectral data and the use of additional information such as "ground truth". Vegetation stress and soil degradation problems can be detected at an early stage, which can allow remedial action to begin. Farm houses and wind breaks are visible, as are the road and larger drainage networks.
Question: Can you determine the area covered by this image just by looking at it? [ Answer ]
About this Image
| Location: |
Rocky View, Alberta |
| NTS map(s): |
82 O/1 (1:50,000) |
 Location Map: |
See a detailed map (1:1M) of the region |
| Image Date: |
September 5, 1991 |
| Satellites/Sensors: |
SPOT Panchromatic mode (PLA) |
| Resolution: |
10 m pixels |
| Image Area: |
Approximately 10km by 10km for overview (7km by 7km for detailed image) |
| Image Features: |
Agriculture, cultivated field patterns, soil conditions, homesteads, wind breaks, Western Canadian rural landuse patterns |
| Related Tour Images: |
Altona, Manitoba; Niagara Falls, Ontario; Fredericton, New Brunswick; Essex County, Ontario; Melfort, Saskatchewan |
| Related Glossary Terms: |
These terms from the CCRS Glossary may help you to understand this image and its interpretation:
image texture, tone, brightness, contrast |
| Related Tutorial Sections: |
These sections of the "Fundamentals of Remote Sensing" tutorial by CCRS will help you to better understand this image and its interpretation:
2.8 2.12 5.2
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| Image Credits: |
Received by Canada Centre for Remote Sensing
Processed by and provided courtesy of RADARSAT International Inc.
© CNES 1991 |
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Additional
Information: | As with many Prairie farming operations, the field sizes are
very large, with wheat, barley, canola, mustard, pasture, peas and oats
being the dominant crop types. Soil salinity is a significant problem
in the Prairies and often manifests itself in areas of high saline
concentration as salt on the surface of the ground or as poor, stressed
crops. There are some examples of such soil problems in this image.
High winds are
again typical of much of the region, being very significant in the
southern portion of the province. Wind breaks, outlining the main farm
house and often much of the outlying buildings, make these features
quite easy to pick out. Natural features, such as bush areas or
vegetation along minor drainage routes are usually easy to identify as
they are darker in tone on this type of imagery (i.e. indicating
vegetation) and have uneven boundaries. The artificial features (i.e.
crop boundaries) are very straight. Field size and crop yield are often
calculated from satellite imagery for purposes of crop management,
insurance and marketing. The darker fields in the imagery
represent areas still under crop, pasture or grass lands. Most of the
area has been harvested, which is not surprising as the imagery was
acquired on September 5. |
| Question: |
Can you determine the area covered by this image just by looking at it? |
| Answer: |
Yes! When the Canadian Prairies were surveyed for settlement,
a 1 mile grid design was used. Full sections are one mile on each side.
The road system is laid out along the same grid and while a road does
not occur every mile in the east/west or north/south direction, the
agricultural fields seldom overlap these sections. Thus distance is very
easy to measure. You can seen 4 sections in the east/west and almost 4
sections in the north/south and know the area is 4 miles by 4 miles.
(One mile equals approximately 1.6 km.) |
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