Earth From Above
Terkezi Oasis
Terkezi Oasis Image taken 10/22/2000 A series of rocky outcroppings are a prominent feature of this Sahara Desert landscape near the Terkezi Oasis in the country of Chad. The Terkezi Oasis can be found on Landsat 7 WRS Path 180 Row 47, center: 18.79, 22.92.
Richat Structure
Richat Structure Image taken 1/11/2001 The so-called Richat Structure is a geological formation in the Maur Adrar Desert in the African country of Mauritania. Although it resembles an impact crater, the Richat Structure formed when a volcanic dome hardened and gradually eroded, exposing the onion-like layers of rock. The Richat Structure can be found on Landsat 7 WRS Path 203 Row 45, center: 21.68, -11.94.
Mississippi River Delta
Mississippi River Delta Image taken 5/24/2001 by ASTER Turbid waters spill out into the Gulf of Mexico where their suspended sediment is deposited to form the Mississippi River Delta. Like the webbing on a duck's foot, marshes and mudflats prevail between the shipping channels that have been cut into the delta.
Malaspina Glacier
Malaspina Glacier Image taken 8/31/2000 The tongue of the Malaspina Glacier, the largest glacier in Alaska, fills most of this image. The Malaspina lies west of Yakutat Bay and covers 1,500 sq. MI (3,880 sq. km). Malaspina can be found on Landsat 7 WRS Path 63 Row 18, center: 60.10, -141.78.
Karman Vortices
Karman Vortices Image taken 9/15/1999 Each of these swirling clouds is a result of a meteorological phenomenon known as a Karman vortex. These vortices appeared over Alexander Selkirk Island in the southern Pacific Ocean. Rising precipitously from the surrounding waters, the island's highest point is nearly a mile (1.6 km) above sea level. As wind-driven clouds encounter this obstacle, they flow around it to form these large, spinning eddies. These Karman Vortices can be found on Landsat 7 WRS Path 6 Row 83, center: -33.18, -79.99.
Iran's Largest Desert
Dasht-e Kevir Image taken 10/24/2000 The Dasht-e Kevir, or valley of desert, is the largest desert in Iran. It is a primarily uninhabited wasteland, composed of mud and salt marshes covered with crusts of salt that protect the meager moisture from completely evaporating. Dasht-e Kevir can be found on Landsat 7 WRS Path 162 Row 36, center: 34.62, 54.71.
Himalayas
The Himalayas Image taken 2/17/2002 by ASTER Soaring, snow-capped peaks and ridges of the eastern Himalayas Mountains create an irregular white-on-red patchwork between major rivers in southwestern China. The Himalayas are made up of three parallel mountain ranges that together extend more than 2900 kilometers. This image can be found on ASTER Path 136 Row 39, center: 29.93 N, 93.62 E.
Guinea-Bissau's Coast
Guinea-Bissau Image taken 12/1/2000 Guinea-Bissau is a small country in West Africa. Complex patterns can be seen in the shallow waters along its coastline, where silt carried by the Geba and other rivers washes out into the Atlantic Ocean. Guinea-Bissau can be found on Landsat 7 WRS Path 204 Row 52, center: 11.57, -15.77.
Garden City, Kansas
Garden City, Kansas Image taken 9/25/2000 Center pivot irrigation systems create red circles of healthy vegetation in this image of croplands near Garden City, Kansas. Garden City can be found on Landsat 7 WRS Path 30 Row 34, center: 37.48, -100.51.
West Fjords
West Fjords Image taken 6/6/2000 The West Fjords are a series of peninsulas in northwestern Iceland. They represent less than one-eighth the country's land area, but their jagged perimeter accounts for more than half of Iceland's total coastline. The West Fjords can be found on Landsat 7 WRS Path 222 Row 14, center: 65.59, -23.07.
Dragon Lake
Dragon Lake, Siberia Image taken 12/19/1999 Nicknamed "Dragon Lake," this body of water is formed by the Bratskove Reservoir, built along the Angara River in southern Siberia, near the city of Bratsk. This image was acquired in winter, when the lake is frozen. Dragon Lake can be found on Landsat 7 WRS Path 136 Row 21, center: 55.92, 102.93.
Bolivian Deforestation
Bolivian Deforestation Image taken 8/1/2000 Once a vast carpet of healthy vegetation and virgin forest, the Amazon rain forest is changing rapidly. This image of Bolivia shows dramatic deforestation in the Amazon Basin. Loggers have cut long paths into the forest, while ranchers have cleared large blocks for their herds. Fanning out from these clear-cut areas are settlements built in radial arrangements of fields and farms. Healthy vegetation appears bright red in this image.
Ocean Sand, Bahamas
Ocean Sand, Bahamas Image taken October 29, 2000 Though the above image may resemble a new age painting straight out of an art gallery in Venice Beach, California, it is in fact a satellite image of the sands and seaweed in the Bahamas. The image was taken by the Enhanced Thematic Mapper plus (ETM+) instrument aboard the Landsat 7 satellite. Tides and ocean currents in the Bahamas sculpted the sand and seaweed beds into these multicolored, fluted patterns in much the same way that winds sculpted the vast sand dunes in the Sahara Desert. Image courtesy Serge Andrefouet, University of South Florida
Australian Scar
Great Sandy Scars Image taken 8/22/2000 In a small corner of the vast Great Sandy Desert in Western Australia, large sand dunes --the only sand in this desert of scrub and rock -- appear as lines stretching from left to right. The light-colored fan shapes are scars from wildfires.
Aleutian Clouds
Aleutian Clouds Image taken 6/16/2000 These cloud formations were seen over the western Aleutian Islands. Their color variations are probably due to differences in temperature and in the size of water droplets that make up the clouds. USGS National Center for EROS and NASA Landsat Project Science Office
