Another target of the image interpreter is the impact of man. In sparsely populated areas like the Atacam the signs are relatively few. However, even small populations must get from place to place. Industry such as mines require the movement of heavy loads of equipment and ores.
Roads are the most common and easily spotted man made artifact.
This extreme enlargement shows a part of the Pan-American Highway running diagonally across the photo from upper left to lower right. Those with sharp eyes will also see smaller feeder roads and several crossroad settlements. The Kalahari Desert in Africa Roads are even easier to spot on flat deserts like the Kalahari. Here we see a busy network of roads linking the thin agricultural economy of the region. Even though they stand out clearly in the enlargement, probably none of these roads are paved and few are wider than the width of the bulldozer blade that made them.