Posted on Friday 18 April 2003
This featured image is a 61-centimeter
pan-sharpened image of the Great Pyramid in Giza,
Egypt, collected by QuickBird on February 2, 2002. The
Great Pyramid is estimated to have been built circa
2650 B.C., and was erected as a tomb for the Egyptian
pharaoh Khufu of the Fourth Dynasty. Upon the
completion of its construction, the Great Pyramid stood
145.75 meters (481 feet) high, and over the millennia
has lost approximately 10 meters (30 feet) off the top.
It stood as the tallest structure on Earth for more
than 43 centuries.
To help make sense of the surrounding structures, take a
look at this map
of the Giza plateau area.
The satellite image is from Digital Globe
which has lots of other interesting aerial photos. Thanks
to Scott
for making me aware of this site.
