With much of the US experiencing years-long drought, many of us are changing the way we think about landscaping. Some of us (I’m in California) are even under state-mandated water restrictions, with potential fines for noncompliance. We commonly see withered lawns here, sometimes labeled with signs reading “It’s green to go brown” or similar slogans to let passersby know the lawn isn’t simply neglected but part of a water conservation plan.
Not every region has to watch its water so closely, though. This map based on satellite imagery shows the prevalence of lawns in the US. The green areas don’t show actual areas of lawn, of course, but the locations where the largest percentage of the land is covered with turfgrass. The densely populated and relatively wetter Northeastern US, not surprisingly, has a high concentration of lawns, but Florida, southern California, and parts of Texas have a surprisingly large amount as well. You can see a larger version of the map here.
As the accompanying text on NASA’s Earth Observatory site explains, lawns occupy more space in the US than any other crop. Three times as much area is taken up by lawn than by corn.
The NASA site contains a number of other interesting maps based on satellite imagery. This page, for example, shows the percent of impervious area in the Washington DC area—which drains to the Chesapeake Bay—in 1984 and in 2010. This page shows the historical loss of tree canopy height across the eastern half of the US between 1650 and 1992, and this one changing patterns of land use. There are many more—some completely relevant to erosion control and conservation efforts, and some just fun to waste a few minutes exploring.
Janice Kaspersen
Janice Kaspersen is the former editor of Erosion Control and Stormwater magazines.
