In the Four Corners area, where the boundaries of Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah meet, satellite data has detected an alarming amount of methane leaking from the Earth. From 2003-2009 the area leaked 0.59 million metric tonnes of the greenhouse gas into the atmosphere each year, according to a new study published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.

The region is also home to the San Juan Basin, one of the major sources for the natural gas coalbed methane in North America. The area leaking the gas measures around 2500 square miles, or just over twice the area of Rhode Island.