The study conducted in one of the development blocks of Almora district in Uttarakhand state (India) advocates that multi temporal satellite imagery plays a vital role in quantifying spatial and temporal phenomena which is otherwise not possible to attempt through conventional mapping. The study reveals that the major land use in the study area is vegetation. The area under vegetation has increased by 3.51% (9.39 km2) due to afforestation work during 1990 to 2010. The second major category of land in the study area is agriculture which was decreased by 1.52% (4.06 km2) due to conversion in vegetation, barren land and built-up land. The third major category of land in the study area is barren which has also decreasing. During the study period (i.e., 1990–2010), barren land has been decreased by 5.46% (14.59 km2) due to conversion in agriculture, vegetation and built-up land. The area under fourth category of land, i.e., the built-up land has increased by 3.55% (9.48 km2) due to mainly expansion of the Almora town area during the last two decades. Thus, the present study illustrates that remote sensing and GIS are important technologies for temporal analysis and quantification of spatial phenomena which is otherwise not possible to attempt through conventional mapping techniques. Change detection is made possible by these technologies in less time, at low cost and with better accuracy.