Since the '70s, Orange County has witnessed a tremendous amount of growth. The City Beautiful, or "Action Center USA," is reportedly the most visited state destination in the United States. In 2014 alone, 64 million people visited Orlando. You certainly don't need satellite images to see how tourism has made its impact on Orange County. However, it does help.
As part of NASA's World of Change series, these images of Orlando come from the Landsat series of satellites between 1972 and 2014. If you're wondering why water is black, vegetation is red, and urban areas are brown to gray, it's because the images are shown in red, green and near-infrared light, a combination that NASA says helps differentiate components of landscapes.
Also, the picture quality is lower in the earlier frames because the Landsat imaging instruments weren't that great in the early '70s.
At a time when local-based reporting is critical, support from our readers is essential to our future. If you're able to, please support the Orlando Weekly today.
Browse Galleries
The 25 most essential down-home Orlando wing joints
We went to the 2021 Inauguration in Washington, D.C., and here’s what we saw
A rare hurricane-resistant Topsider pedestal house is currently for sale in Hernando County
Tim Tebow, former University of Florida football star, just sold an extremely dull house for $1.4 million
If you heart Mike Huckabee, his luxurious Florida beach house is up for sale
This mega three-story manse in Windermere can be yours for a mere $6 million