SkyTruth obtained historical Landsat satellite imagery to show the area of the Jonah natural gas field as it looked prior to drilling in 1986. Only two dirt roads can be seen, thin pale lines that intersect in the lower left. Most of the area is essentially undisturbed sagebrush and grassland (shades of reddish brown to blue-gray).

Barren "badlands" common to the high desert of the northern Rocky Mountains appear very bright on the imagery. This image covers an area about seven miles across.