Up Close: Geothermal

A bird’s-eye view reveals the Cerro Prieto Geothermal Field, Mexicali, Mexico – one of the biggest geothermal plants in the world – as it has never been seen before.

  • Words + Photography: Edward Burtynsky

I wanted to find ways to make compelling photographs about the human systems employed to redirect and control water. I soon realised that views from ground level could not show the enormous scale of activity.

I had to get up high, into the air, to see it from a bird’s-eye perspective. The Cerro Prieto Geothermal Field, located close to Mexicali, Mexico on the Colorado River Delta, is one of the largest geothermal plants in the world. This pulling away from the earth has allowed me to see our world in ways once unavailable to artists.

Edward Burtynsky is a photographer based in Canada Image: © Edward Burtynsky, courtesy Nicholas Metivier Gallery, Toronto / Flowers, London

Article taken from

Issue 02
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