Compatibility

The United States has more than 300,000 miles of buried natural gas transmission pipelines. Not only are pipelines the safest and most efficient means of transporting a fuel that meets one fifth of the nation’s demand for energy, they are also highly compatible with the environment. A few years after a pipeline goes into service, it can be very difficult to determine the pipeline’s location.

The two aerial photographs below depict pipeline rights of way in the Pacific Northwest. The photo at top shows the right of way for a 16-inch-diameter natural gas pipeline, and the photo at bottom depicts the right of way for twin 36- and 42-inch pipelines.

See if you can determine the pipeline right of way.

Roll your cursor over the photographs to see where the pipelines are buried.