Satellites circle our planet, planes cross the oceans and drones flit across the skies – in the 21st century we are incredibly lucky to be able to view the ground from high above. Things look different from up there and a bird's-eye perspective can make ordinary places look like extraordinary artworks.

Click through the gallery to see incredible aerial images of our planet that look like works of art...

NASA’s natural colour satellite image captures a major mining operation in Lop Nur, part of the autonomous region of Xinjiang. At the end of the last century, large deposits of potash (potassium salt essential to fertiliser) were discovered here in the Taklimakan Desert.

Transylvania is a historical region of Romania that is surrounded by the craggy Carpathian mountain range. Picturesque mountain roads with steep hairpin turns meander through the peaks and spruce forests – a riot of fall colours in autumn and covered in a blanket of snow in winter.

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Tulips in the Netherlands' flower fields bloom every spring. This beautiful sight is a huge tourist attraction, as well as an economic boon for the country – the Dutch produce more than four billion tulip bulbs each year. Find out where to spot the colourful displays along the Netherlands' tulip trail.

Just inland from the coast of southwestern Greenland you can see the pretty patterns formed by blue pools and crevasses where the meltwater has forced its way through the glacier.

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In the north of Chile, the arid and remote Atacama Desert receives less than a millimetre of rain a year. From NASA’s Earth Observing-1 satellite, it looks like nothing grows here, although the saline and acidic water of the Lluta has been irrigated for low-quality farmland.

The Dead Sea (or Yam-Ha Melah – the Sea of Salt) at the border between Israel and Jordan is the lowest place on Earth. The “sea” is in fact a lake, and salt fields here are natural works of crystalised art.

The gateway to northwest Vietnam, Yen Bai province is for the most part ignored by tourists, but the stunning landscapes at Mu Cang Chai are worth seeking out. The rice terraces are harvested in September and October when they are at their most beautiful.

Toll-controlled access highways criss-cross the capital of Thailand. Built to ease Bangkok’s considerable traffic congestion, the interchanges are as beautiful as they are complex.

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Hutt Lagoon near Port Gregory is one of Western Australia’s famous bubblegum-pink lakes. The result of bacteria in the saline waters, the specific hues change depending on the time of day or year.

Australia’s Great Barrier Reef is visible from outer space. This aerial view is from a little closer, but you still get a sense of a vast and complex natural ecosystem. A scenic flight over the Whitsundays will take you over Heart Reef (pictured), a romantically shaped coral reef only 56 feet (17m) in diameter that has become an iconic focal point of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.

Primary colours and rectangular sea containers makes this pleasing aerial view of a Los Angeles port look almost like a post-modern print.

Another post-modern artwork in the making, the grid pattern of these solar panels in a California field could almost have been chosen for its aesthetic value.

Kazakhstan farmland in the autumn is a beautiful patchwork of green and tan. The contours of the land here, near the border with China, add to the beauty of the landscape.

The 20th-century double helix staircase near the entrance to the Vatican Museums was inspired by an original built in 1505. It is one of the most photographed sights in Vatican City.

It’s hard for the eye to discern the town buried beneath the white snow on the shore of Hallstätter See (or Lake Hallstatt). This Austrian town is pretty in the summer months, but looking down from the skies in winter, it looks like an abstract work by a modern artist.

The Nile flows northward through northwest Africa – here the view is of the river as it flows toward the Mediterranean Sea in Egypt. The longest river in the world is vital to agriculture in the region.

Also known as Talad Nud Rod Fai, this vibrant outdoor night market was established in 2015. With a retro vibe and food zone, it appeals to Bangkok’s cool young creatives.

This fascinating stylised chalk outline has been part of England’s rolling Oxfordshire Downs since the Bronze Age. Nobody knows why the original horse was etched into the county’s highest hill, but volunteers keep it in chalky white perfect condition.

More stunning images of the UK from above...

Rajasthan’s blue city grew up around the 15th-century Mehrangarh Fort. When you view India’s most photogenic city from such high ground, it feels like the blue buildings might have been sketched by Van Gogh himself.

This UNESCO-listed inland delta in northwest Botswana is a unique wetland system that is promoted as one of Africa’s seven natural wonders. The protected marshlands and seasonally flooded plains are home to many of the world’s endangered animals, including the cheetah and white and black rhinoceros.

Picture postcard green rolling Tuscan hills are at the very heart of Italy. From far above, the rural landscape could be an artists’ canvas – and Tuscany has inspired many world-class masterpieces.

Further north, the province of Pavia has equally alluring agricultural views. A John Deere tractor provides the focus for this pastoral scene.

The stylised geoglyphs originally etched into an arid Peruvian plain more than 2,000 years ago are an enigma. Designs include hummingbirds, monkeys, spiders and human figures, and some of them are more than 1,000 feet (305m) across. They are best admired from the sky.

More surprising sights you can only see from above...

Yellowstone’s Grand Prismatic Spring was created by hot water rising up through cracks in the earth’s surface. The riot of colour is created by heat-loving bacteria – not Photoshop.

The parched landscape of Arizona provides the perfect canvas for this study in symmetry, created by the roads that were meant to serve houses in this abandoned housing project on the outskirts of Phoenix.

With its miles of gorgeous white-sand beaches, emerald Gulf waters and abundant sunshine, Holmes Beach is popular with vacationers looking for ‘old-Florida charm’ and the chance to spot dolphins, sting rays and manatees in the crystal-clear sea.

Check out these other beautiful beaches from above...

Siem Reap is the closest town to the stunning Khmer temples of Angkor Wat. It is also surrounded by orchards growing seasonal fruits like rose apple, jackfruit, mango and star fruit, enjoyed fresh by the tourists that flock here from all over the world.

The Namib Desert stretches for more than 1,242 miles (2,000 km) along the Atlantic coasts of Angola, Namibia and South Africa. It is famous for its towering orange sand dunes that rise 984 feet (300m) high and stretch more than 20 miles (32 km) long. Many of the sand dunes, like the one pictured, feature ‘blowouts’, sandy, bowl-like depressions created by the wind.

The vibrantly coloured salt lake in Yuncheng, in the north of China's Shanxi Province, is the third largest sodium sulphate inland salt lake in the world. Salt has been mined here for over 4,600 years, with the striking magenta, violet and yellow created by a unique species of micro-algae called Dunaliella salina that creates algal blooms.

Now discover America from above...