Tagebau Hambach is a surface coal mine in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The mine opened in 1978 and currently covers 17 square miles (44 sq km). Here, bucket-wheel excavators—considered to be the largest land machines in the world at 315 feet (96 m) tall and 730 feet (223 m) long—continuously scoop materials from the surface in order to extract coal. The facility will eventually expand to cover 33 square miles (85 sq km).
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Source imagery: NASA / Google Timelapse
Tagebau Hambach Mine