Issue 156: Jefferson Grid + Maha Kumbh Mela + Ice Racing + Andes
In this week’s issue:
- The American West’s geometric grid
- The world’s largest festival in India
- Ice racing courses in northern Europe
- An intriguing capture in Argentinian Andes
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Feature Story: Jefferson Grid
The only thing Americans love more than Big Macs are, you guessed it: boxes. Put the two together, though, and you get the union of two road trip essentials: fast food and straight roads. Across the Western United States, the square arrangement of agricultural plots, highways, and neighborhoods is called the Jefferson Grid, a popular method of surveying and selling land by the box.
After the Revolutionary War, Thomas Jefferson devised an intrepid system for apportioning the West. Instead of dividing land according to its topography and natural features, the soon-to-be-president suggested a more straightforward approach: impose a grid of parallel lines that criss-cross terrain regardless of desert, hill, or whatever curved feature may stand in the way.
Seen from orbit, this geometrical imprint is strikingly apparent, strangely beautiful, and a little unsettling. Its dedication to order is uniquely representative of the new nation — but read between the lines and its legacy of westward expansion is anything but neat.
Whether seen through a plane window, navigated on the ground in straight lines, or simply scrolling over satellite data, the Jefferson Grid is a centuries-old dedication to lattice-like order that’s etched its way onto western landscapes.
In the News: Maha Kumbh Mela
Our satellites just can’t pass up a big gathering of people, especially not the world’s largest with an expected 400 million in attendance. The 1300-year-old Hindu pilgrimage, called Maha Kumbh Mela, is underway in the Indian city of Prayagraj, where the Ganges and Yamuna rivers converge. The festival only happens once every 12 years, and the extent of this year’s celebration is evident in the scale of encampments along the rivers’ banks.
What in the World: Ice Racing
The Swedes and Finns are masters at skating on thin ice. Every winter, what appear as cryptic symbols take shape on frozen bodies of water in the Arctic countries. In reality they’re race tracks for winter sports, including a special track for drivers to slip and slide on the ice in Porsches.
Snap of the Week: Andes
There’s no shortage of beautiful sights in the Argentinian Andes.
All imagery Ⓒ 2025 Planet Labs PBC
Editor: Ryder Kimball | Images: Ryder Kimball and Max Borrmann