Egypt - March 5th, 2010

The Sinai Peninsula or Sinai is a triangular peninsula in Egypt that lies between the Mediterranean Sea to the north, and the Red Sea to the south (lower portion of image). The Gulf of Suez is located on the west side of the peninsula, and the Gulf of Aqaba, on the east side. Many islands and coral reefs are visible here in the Red Sea and the Gulfs.

The Sinai Peninsula, which has a surface area of about 60,000 km2 (23,000 sq mi),  serves as a land bridge between Africa and Asia. In fact, it is the only part of Egypt located in the latter continent.

Tags: Africa Asia Coral Reefs Egypt Gulf of Aqaba Gulf of Suez Red Sea Sinai Peninsula |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | | Leave a comment

Turkey - February 18th, 2010

Lake Van, the largest lake in Turkey, occupies most of this orthorectified image. It is a saline and soda lake, receiving water from numerous small streams that descend from the surrounding mountains. It is an endorheic lake (having no outlet), as the original outlet from the basin was blocked by an ancient volcanic eruption.

As a deep lake with no outlet, Lake Van has accumulated great amounts of sediment washed in from surrounding plains and valleys, and occasionally deposited as ash from eruptions of nearby volcanoes. This layer of sediment is estimated to be up to 400 metres (1,300 ft) thick in places, and has attracted climatologists and vulcanologists interested in drilling cores to examine the layered sediments.

One volcano visible near its shores is Mount Sipan (or Mount Süphan), a stratovolcano. Located immediately north of Lake Van, it is the second highest volcano in the Armenian Highlands, after Mount Ararat.

Tags: Armenian Highlands ASAR Lake Van Mount Sipan Mount Süphan Orthorectification Turkey |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | | Leave a comment

Brazil - February 24th, 2010

Lagoa Mirim (Portuguese) or Laguna Merín (Spanish) is a large estuarine lagoon which extends from southern Rio Grande do Sul state in Brazil into eastern Uruguay. Lagoa Mirim is separated from the Atlantic Ocean by a sandy, partially barren isthmus. Here, greyish brown sediments fill the lagoon, while tan-colored sediments frame the oceanic coastline.

Lagoa Mirim is about 108 miles (174 km) long by 6 to 22 miles (35 km) wide. It is more irregular in outline than its larger neighbor to the north, Lagoa dos Patos, and discharges into the latter through São Gonçalo Channel, which is navigable by small boats.

Lagoa Mirim has no direct connection to the Atlantic, but the Rio Grande, a tidal channel about 24 miles (39 km) long which connects Lagoa dos Patos to the Atlantic, affords an entrance to the navigable inland waters of both lagoons and several small ports.

Both lakes are the remains of an ancient depression in the coastline shut in by sand beaches built up by the combined action of wind and current. They are at the same level as the ocean, but their waters are affected by the tides and are brackish only a short distance above the Rio Grande outlet.

The Jaguarão/Yaguarón River, which forms part of the Brazil-Uruguay boundary line, empties into Lagoa Mirim, and is navigable 26 miles (42 km) up to and beyond the twin towns of Jaguarão (Brazil) and Rio Branco (Uruguay).

Tags: Atlantic Ocean Brazil Jaguarão River Lagoa Mirim Lagoon Laguna Merín Rio Grande do Sul São Gonçalo Channel Sediments Uruguay Yaguarón River |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | | Leave a comment

Ethiopia - February 19th, 2010

This orthorectified image shows the mountainous terrain near the city of Asella, in central Ethiopia. It can be identified here as a bright white area in the upper left quadrant, west of a structure that appears to be a volcanic caldera. Located in the Arsi Zone of the Oromia Region about 175 kilometers south of Addis Ababa, the city has an elevation of 2430 meters.

Ethiopia’s high central plateau varies from 1,290 to 3,000 m (4,232 to 9,843 ft) above sea level, with the highest mountain reaching 4,533 m (14,872 ft). Elevation is generally highest just before the point of descent to the Great Rift Valley, which splits the plateau diagonally.

Tags: Africa Arsi Zone ASAR Asella Caldera Ethiopia Great Rift Valley Oromia Region Orthorectification |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | | Leave a comment

Russia - February 24th, 2010

The terrain of Russian Siberia near the city of Okhotsk (shoreline, left, near the mouth of the Okhota River) appears white due to snow cover, as does much of the Sea of Okhotsk below, due to ice. Many large ice floes are visible off the coast.

The Sea of Okhotsk is a part of the western Pacific Ocean, lying between the Kamchatka Peninsula on the east, the Kuril Islands on the southeast, the island of Hokkaidō to the far south, the island of Sakhalin along the west, and a long stretch of eastern Siberian coast (including the Shantar Islands) along the west and north.

The Sea covers 611,000 sq.mi. (1,583,000 km2.), with a mean depth of 2,818 feet (859 metres). Its maximum depth is 11,063 feet (3,372 metres).

In winter, navigation on the Sea of Okhotsk becomes difficult, or even impossible, due to the formation of large ice floes, because the large amount of freshwater from the Amur River lowers the salinity and raises the freezing point of the sea. The distribution and thickness of ice floes depends on many factors: the location, the time of year, water currents, and the sea temperatures.

Tags: Amur River Ice Floes Okhota River Okhotsk Pacific Ocean Russia Sea of Okhotsk Siberia |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | | Leave a comment

Argentina - February 24th, 2010

Sediments from the Paraná and Uruguay Rivers color the Rio de la Plata estuary various shades of brown and tan as they make their way towards the Atlantic Ocean. An estimated 57 million cubic meters (2 billion cubic feet) of silt is carried into the estuary each year, where the muddy waters are stirred up by winds and the tides.

The city of Buenos Aires is visible towards the center left edge, appearing as an extensive greyish tan area that extends inward from the western shores of the estuary. Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, currently the second-largest metropolitan area in South America. Upon opening the full image, the city of Montevideo, Uruguay, is also visible on the estuary’s eastern shores.

Tags: Argentina Buenos Aires Montevideo Paraná River Rio de la Plata Sediments South America Uruguay Uruguay River |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | | Leave a comment

Greece - February 19th, 2010

Thasos or Thassos, visible in the lower left quadrant of this orthorectified image, is a Greek island in the northern Aegean Sea, close to the coast of Thrace and the plain of the river Nestos but geographically part of Macedonia. It is the northernmost Greek island.

Thasos has a generally round shape, without deep bays and significant peninsulas. The highest peak, Ypsario or Ipsario, is 1,205 m (3428 ft) high and lies in the eastern half of the island, which is steeper and mostly covered in pine forest. The western half has gentler slopes. While generally mountainous, the terrain is not particularly rugged, as it rises gradually from the coast towards the island center.

Tags: Aegean Sea ASAR Europe Greece Greek Islands Ipsario Macedonia Orthorectification Thasos Thassos Thrace Ypsario |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | | Leave a comment

Japan - February 24th, 2010

Sado Island is visible in the Sea of Japan off the coast of Honshu, the main island of Japan, northeast of the Noto Peninsula. The peninsula is part of Ishikawa Prefecture, while Sado Island is part of the Niigata Prefecture.

Since 2004 the city of Sado has comprised the entire island of Sado, although not all of its total area of 855.26 km2 is urbanized. Sado is the sixth largest island of Japan in area following Okinawa Island and excluding the Northern territories.

The island consists of two parallel mountain ranges running roughly southwest-northeast, enclosing a central plain. The Ōsado Range, in the North, is slightly higher, with peaks including Mount Kinpoku, the highest point of the island at 1,172 m, Mount Myōken, and Mount Donden. The Kosado Range in the South faces the Honshū coast. The highest point in Kosado is Ōjiyama at 645 m.

The plain in between those ranges is called Kuninaka and is the most populated area. The Kuninaka plain opens on its eastern side onto Ryōtsu Bay, and on its western side onto Mano Bay, where the island’s longest river, Kokufugawa (or Konogawa) reaches the sea.

Tags: Asia Honshu Ishikawa Japan Kokufugawa River Konogawa River Kosado Range Kuninaka Mano Bay Mount Donden Mount Kinpoku Mount Myoken Niigata Noto Peninsula Ojiyama Osado Range Ryotsu Bay Sado Sado Island Sea of Japan |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | | Leave a comment

New Zealand - February 23rd, 2010

This FAPAR image thumbnail focuses on New Zealand’s North Island, although the South Island and a phytoplankton bloom to the east are also visible upon opening the full image. The North Island shows more areas of high photosynthetic activity (dark red) than the South Island, although both islands show generally good activity.

Because of its long isolation from the rest of the world and its island biogeography, New Zealand has extraordinary flora and fauna. About 80% of New Zealand’s flora is endemic, including 65 endemic genera. Until the arrival of humans, 80% of the land was forested.

The two main types of forest are those dominated by podocarps and/or the giant kauri, and in cooler climates the southern beech. The remaining vegetation types in New Zealand are grasslands of tussock and other grasses, usually in sub-alpine areas, and the low shrublands between grasslands and forests.

Tags: FAPAR New Zealand North Island Phytoplankton South Island |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | | Leave a comment