STNMTZ_20020201_36.TIF | George Steinmetz

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Harvesting tomatoes on a center-pivot irrigation circle near Wadi Dawasir at the edge of the Rub’ al Khali desert in Saudi Arabia. Irrigation water comes from wells 100-200M deep and is mixed with fertilizer before being distributed outwards by a rotating pipe on wheels. The wells tap into “fossil water” that fell as rain thousands of years ago. After about twenty years, the water drops to a level that is no longer economic to grow tomatoes and the fields are abandoned.

Filename: STNMTZ_20020201_36.TIF
Copyright: © 2002 George Steinmetz
Image Size: 7156x4747 / 97.2MB; www.georgesteinmetz.com
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Riyadh, Saudi Arabia<br />
Harvesting tomatoes on a center-pivot irrigation circle near Wadi Dawasir at the edge of the Rub’ al Khali desert in Saudi Arabia. Irrigation water comes from wells 100-200M deep and is mixed with fertilizer before being distributed outwards by a rotating pipe on wheels. The wells tap into “fossil water” that fell as rain thousands of years ago. After about twenty years, the water drops to a level that is no longer economic to grow tomatoes and the fields are abandoned.