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I took this photo from a plane over Australia. Why is there a path running down the middle?

enter image description here

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    $\begingroup$ For your sake (and everyone else on the plane) I sincerely hope it's not the runway... $\endgroup$ Commented Nov 25, 2024 at 9:51
  • $\begingroup$ Haha @Stiv! All good $\endgroup$ Commented Nov 25, 2024 at 10:26
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    $\begingroup$ The fold in the map? $\endgroup$ Commented Nov 25, 2024 at 14:20
  • $\begingroup$ May I ask what direction you were flying when you took this pic? $\endgroup$ Commented Nov 25, 2024 at 15:22
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    $\begingroup$ Guys please don't close. I want to reward the accepted answer for brilliant work. $\endgroup$ Commented Nov 26, 2024 at 0:11

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This is this location just north of Sydney (33°13'20.4"S 151°09'05.3"E).
The city in the photograph is Kulnura, and the water is the southern third of Mangrove Creek.
If you place a Streetview car on the part of George Downes Dr. that crosses the line in question, you'll see powerlines overhead: this confirms that the line of cut trees is for a high-voltage powerline, as answered by David Smith.

Screenshot of Google Maps location

To prove that this is the location in the photograph, here's a side-by-side comparison:

Side-by-side comparison w/o lines Side-by-side comparison with lines

The specific powerline in question is the 500 kV line from Kemps Creek to Eraring, as reported by AEMO's transmission infrastructure map.

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  • $\begingroup$ This is of course correct. Great investigation! How did you find this location from my photo? $\endgroup$ Commented Nov 25, 2024 at 23:36
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    $\begingroup$ @DmitryKamenetsky What I tried... You can see a lake with a dam and you originally mentioned in the comments (@bobble put it into the question) that this photo is from Australia. So, I checked the list of dams and reservoirs in Australia and tried to match the shape of the lake where there are quite a few. I first checked those with "arch"... but unfortunately some of the dams don't have an entry in "type". I gave up since Birjolaxew was faster. $\endgroup$ Commented Nov 26, 2024 at 6:50
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    $\begingroup$ @DmitryKamenetsky I fairly quickly found similar lines by looking at satellite images of Tasmania, which confirmed that it was powerlines. I originally thought it was only done in Tasmania, which caused me to waste way too much time trying to find a lake with a similar shape there. On the upside I also googled my way to AEMO's map in the ~30 mins I spent on Tasmania. When I switched focus to mainland Australia it took ~5 minutes to find the lake :) Fun challenge! $\endgroup$ Commented Nov 26, 2024 at 7:27
  • $\begingroup$ Truly amazing work. I grew up in Tasmania, but never noticed this. $\endgroup$ Commented Nov 26, 2024 at 8:20
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This is likely to be the trail of a high voltage power line.

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  • $\begingroup$ I hid your answer $\endgroup$ Commented Nov 25, 2024 at 7:32
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    $\begingroup$ Agreed. This looks very similar to this location in Tasmania, which is used for exactly that (many others can be found throughout Tasmania, all with the same purpose) $\endgroup$ Commented Nov 25, 2024 at 15:46
  • $\begingroup$ This answer is correct too $\endgroup$ Commented Nov 25, 2024 at 23:37
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Seeing how the path is only cleared of trees at hilltops, the cleared parts are almost certainly connected with something hanging very high up. Since power lines would probably be lower, and have a service road under them, I'm going to guess this is a

Cableway.

Might look something like this from the ground:

enter image description here
(promotional image from https://www.visitmelbourne.com/regions/mornington-peninsula/see-and-do/leisure-activities/arthurs-seat-eagle )

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Is it a fire break to prevent the spread of wildfires?

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  • $\begingroup$ Great idea actually $\endgroup$ Commented Nov 25, 2024 at 23:35
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My guess is that this is

the Dingo Fence.

the Dingo Fence

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    $\begingroup$ Love the creativity, but doesn't explain why it's broken $\endgroup$ Commented Nov 25, 2024 at 10:28

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