The World's Longest Conveyor Belt System

Simply transporting ore to the

sea, the World’s Longest Conveyor Belt System is not as grand as the Great Wall of

China

, but it can be seen just as easily from space.

A winding system of interlinked belts, the extra-long conveyance system transports phosphate ore from a mining operation in Bou Craa in Western Sahara to the harbor town of Marsa near El Aaiún where it can be shipped worldwide. All told, the phosphate’s leisurely journey covers over 61 miles of distance from one end of the belt system to another. As the rocky ore makes its way across the landscape the strong desert winds blow the lighter particles of the white ore off the belt, creating a bold ivory streak along the length of the conveyance system. With this extra indicator differentiating the belt’s track from the landscape the miles of moving phosphor can even be seen from space.

The Atlas Obscura Podcast is a short, daily celebration of all the world’s strange and wondrous places. Check out this episode

about the Bou Craa conveyer belt

.