(Image credit: NASA Earth Observatory image by Michala Garrison, using shoreline mapping data from the National Geodetic Survey and MODIS data from Blue Marble: Next Generation.) This image of the Erie Canal was made using satellite data. 2025 marks the bicentennial of the Erie Canal, and NASA's Earth Observatory commemorated the milestone with a satellite-based image tracing the canal's historic route across New York State. This composite image, based on satellite data, shows the path of the Erie canal across the state of New York. The Erie Canal was one of the defining projects of early America.