Google Earth pearls #5

The picture of today shows two worlds: the border between Russia and China. The Russian city, on the northern bank of the river, is not that chaotic but compared to the Southern urban centre, it is inferior in terms of organization and urban planning. The image of yesterday was a perfect example of the consequences of environmental policy but today's portrait is beautifully resembles the impact urban planning or the lack of it. Where the Russian town is a more or less random combination of gardens, houses and public infrastructure, the Chinese town is strictly organized and residential areas, including soccer fields and public parks, are clearly divided from the industrial district and the harbor. The intense agriculture on the Chinese bank also point to the population pressure, present in China. On the other side, Russia seems not to know what to do with all the free space.

There is also a very nice physical geographic phenomenon. Can you see the two colors in the river? Where the two rivers meet, two streams with different characteristics come together and fail to mix. The color resembles the sedimental content of the river, telling something about the region the rivers are draining. One river may find is origin in mountainous areas, getting loaded with huge amounts of sediment while the other river flows through dense forest, carrying a lot of organic matter, blackening the river. As a consequence, the water densities are different and combine this with different flow speeds and temperatures and the two rivers have no trouble flowing next to each other without any mixing.

I like how nothing is the same in the two countries. The two cities resemble a totally different perspective and need for spatial planning, both in urban - and agricultural areas. It's like the rivers can feel those two different world and want to keep the two worlds separated.
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