A Journey to the Center of the Earth!
Garzweiler is a German open-pit mine where lignite (brown coal) is mined. It is operated by RWE, a German Power company based in Essen, North Rhine-Westphalia. The mine currently has a size of 48 km². Mining was originally limited to an area of 66.0 km² (now) called Garzweiler I. But it has been extended with another 48.0 km², called Garzweiler II. Here mining started in 2006. It will take until 2040 to fully excavate and exploit both sectors. The mined lignite is used for power generation at nearby power plants such as Neurath.
The name Garzweiler refers to the eponymous village which has been 'excavated' from the surface of the earth at the beginning of the project. Since than many more villages have disappeared: Reisdorf, Priesterath, Stolzenberg, Elfgen, Belmen, Morken-Harff, Epprath, Omagen, König Courts, Otzenrath, Spenrath, Holz and Pesch.
The mining at Garzweiler II will require twelve more villages (with approximately 7600 inhabitants) to disappear. Among them is the village of Immerath which is almost empty. The clearing process started in 2006.
It needs no further mentioning, that the landscape is completely destroyed as a large open pit will remain. After the completion of the mining, the hole that's left is to be filled-up with water, a lake must arise from size 23 km².
Technical details
This is a single shot with my Canon G9. Post-production included colour toning, changing the curves a little, applying a high pass filter (set at 10) and finally adding a copyright watermark. The latter is, alas, there to stay due to the fact that my photos were frequently copied. So, don't bother commenting on that.
A Journey to the Center of the Earth!
Garzweiler is a German open-pit mine where lignite (brown coal) is mined. It is operated by RWE, a German Power company based in Essen, North Rhine-Westphalia. The mine currently has a size of 48 km². Mining was originally limited to an area of 66.0 km² (now) called Garzweiler I. But it has been extended with another 48.0 km², called Garzweiler II. Here mining started in 2006. It will take until 2040 to fully excavate and exploit both sectors. The mined lignite is used for power generation at nearby power plants such as Neurath.
The name Garzweiler refers to the eponymous village which has been 'excavated' from the surface of the earth at the beginning of the project. Since than many more villages have disappeared: Reisdorf, Priesterath, Stolzenberg, Elfgen, Belmen, Morken-Harff, Epprath, Omagen, König Courts, Otzenrath, Spenrath, Holz and Pesch.
The mining at Garzweiler II will require twelve more villages (with approximately 7600 inhabitants) to disappear. Among them is the village of Immerath which is almost empty. The clearing process started in 2006.
It needs no further mentioning, that the landscape is completely destroyed as a large open pit will remain. After the completion of the mining, the hole that's left is to be filled-up with water, a lake must arise from size 23 km².
Technical details
This is a single shot with my Canon G9. Post-production included colour toning, changing the curves a little, applying a high pass filter (set at 10) and finally adding a copyright watermark. The latter is, alas, there to stay due to the fact that my photos were frequently copied. So, don't bother commenting on that.