Canada - January 25th, 2010

This orthorectified image shows the Peace River Country (or Peace Country), prairie land around the Peace River in Canada. It spans from northwestern Alberta to the Rocky Mountains in northeastern British Columbia, where the region is also referred to as the Peace River Block. This image focuses on an area by the British Columbia-Alberta border.

The Peace River Country has no fixed boundaries but covers an area of approximately 100,000 miles² to 150,000 miles² (260,000 km² to 390,000 km²). In British Columbia, the area extends from Monkman Provincial Park and Tumbler Ridge in the south, to Hudson’s Hope and the Williston Lake in the west, to Fort Saint John and Charlie Lake in the north.

In Alberta, the region stretches from Grande Prairie and Valleyview in the south, to High Prairie and Lesser Slave Lake in the east, to Fort Vermilion, High Level and Rainbow Lake in the north.

Tags: Alberta ASAR British Columbia Canada Orthorectification Peace Country Peace River Peace River Block Peace River Country |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | | Leave a comment

Namibia - March 5th, 2010

A cloud vortex is visible just off the coast of Namibia, next to the Namib Desert. The orange sands of the desert gradually appear darker in color as they approach the Naukluft Mountains to the east.

Atmospheric phenomena such as fog and clouds along the coastline are common in this region due to the interaction of dry air from the desert with moisture-laden area from the ocean.

Tags: Africa Cloud Vortex Namib Desert Namibia Naukluft Mountains Pacific Ocean |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | | Leave a comment

Australia - March 5th, 2010

Australia - March 7th, 2010

Queensland has been experiencing great amounts of flooding recently. This image focuses on the swollen Cooper Creek, where a flood warning is in effect. Such warnings are in effect for the Bulloo, Georgina, Mary, Moonie, Paroo and Weir Rivers, as well as the Wallam, Mungallala and Eyre Creeks.

There are also warnings for the lower parts of the Diamantina, Condamine, Maranoa, Warrego, Thomson and Barcoo Rivers, as well as the Balonne River system and the Fitzroy River Basin (including the Dawson and Comet Rivers).

As of Monday, the 8th of March, floodwaters were expected to peak in at least three Queensland towns during the course of the night. However, although floodwaters are still threatening some homes and businesses in Queensland, authorities say the worst is over.

The Wallum Creek in the southern inland township of Bollon, west of St George, is continuing to rise and has already inundated 12 homes. However, according to the Queensland Flood Warning Centre it is not expected to go past the levels recorded a few days ago.

The centre says the Warrego River at the south-west town of Cunnamulla is steady at almost 10 metres. Fortunately, Cunnamulla has a levee and the State Emergency Service (SES) says no homes have been flooded.

Further west, the Bulloo River is predicted to peak at the south-west town of Thargomindah, while to the east, the Balonne River remains over 13 metres in St George. Flood levels at Thargomindah in the south west are steady at 6.5 metres.

Two houses were evacuated at Theodore in central Queensland last night and another 70 are still at risk of being inundated. River levels are still rising slowly at Dirranbandi near the New South Wales border but levies are holding.

In other places, floodwaters are gradually receding, allowing people in places such as Charleville, Roma and St George to begin cleanup efforts. Floodwaters dropped about half a metre at St George overnight.

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Philippines - March 5th, 2010

The Philippines is an archipelago of 7,107 islands bordering the Philippine Sea on the east, the South China Sea on the west, and the Celebes Sea on the south. Most of the mountainous islands are covered in tropical rainforest and volcanic in origin.

Although most the islands visible in this FAPAR image shows a good to high vegetation index (green to dark red), deforestation, often the result of illegal logging, is an acute problem in the Philippines. Forest cover declined from 70% of the country’s total land area in 1900 to about 18.3% in 1999.

Many species are endangered and scientists say that South East Asia, which the Philippines is part of, faces a catastrophic extinction rate of 20% by the end of the century.

Tags: Celebes Sea Deforestation FAPAR Philippine Sea Philippines Rainforest South China Sea |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | | Leave a comment

Chile - February 25th, 2010

Chiloé Island (Spanish: Isla de Chiloé), also known as Greater Island of Chiloé (Isla Grande de Chiloé), is the largest island of the Chiloé Archipelago off the coast of Chile, in the Pacific Ocean. The island is located in southern Chile, in the Los Lagos Region, visible here in the lower left quadrant.

The effects of the recent Chilean earthquake were felt as far south as Chiloé Island. Argentina has sent construction teams there to help reconstruct some of the washed away coastal buildings.

Chiloé Island (8,394 km², 3241 sq mi), is the second largest island in Chile (and the fifth largest in South America), after the Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego. It is separated from the Chilean mainland by the Chacao Strait (”Canal Chacao”) to the north, and by the Gulf of Ancud (Golfo de Ancud) and the Gulf of Corcovado (Golfo Corcovado) to the east; the Pacific ocean lies to the west, and the Chonos Archipelago lies to the south, across the Boca del Guafo.

The island is 190 km (118 mi) from north to south, and averages 55–65 km wide (35 to 40 mi). The capital is Castro, on the east side of the island; the second largest town is Ancud, at the island’s northwest corner, and there are several smaller port towns on the east side of the island, such as Quellón, Dalcahue and Chonchi.

Chiloé Island and the Chonos Archipelago are a southern extension of the Chilean coastal range, which runs north and south, parallel to the Pacific coast and the Andes Mountains. The Chilean Central Valley lies between the coastal mountains and the Andes, of which the Gulfs of Ancud and Corcovado form the southern extension. Mountains run north and south along the spine of the island. The east coast is deeply indented, with several natural harbors and numerous smaller islands.

Tags: Ancud Andes Mountains Boca del Guafo Canal Chacao Castro Chacao Strait Chile Chilean Central Valley Chilean Coastal Range Chiloé Archipelago Chiloé Island Chonchi Chonos Archipelago Dalcahue Earthquake Gulf of Ancud Gulf of Corcovado Isla de Chiloé Los Lagos Region Pacific Ocean Quellón South America |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | | Leave a comment

Dust in Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman - March 5th, 2010

Persian Gulf

Close-up of Strait of Hormuz

Sand blows over the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman from a huge dust storm in early March. Since such dust storms are generally more common in Iraq and Kuwait in summer, it is likely that a storm system is responsible for stirring up the particles.

The main image focuses on the lower part of the Persian Gulf and shows the dust spreading to the east into the Gulf of Oman. Iran is visible to the north, while Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Oman can be seen to the south.

The first complementary image shows the upper part of the Persian Gulf as well, barely visible due to the great amount of dust particles in the atmosphere. The other two complementary images are close-ups that show the dust over the Strait of Hormuz and Qatar.

Close-up of Qatar

Tags: Arabian peninsula Asia Dust Dust Storm Gulf of Oman Iran Iraq Kuwait Middle East Oman Persian Gulf Qatar Sand Storm Saudi Arabia Strait of Hormuz United Arab Emirates |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | | Leave a comment

Cambodia - March 5th, 2010

The Tonlé Sap, in Cambodia, is a combined lake and river system and the largest freshwater lake in South East Asia. The lake occupies a depression created due to the geological stress induced by the collision of the Indian subcontinent with Asia. A cluster of fires is visible here to the southwest of the lake.

The combined system is peculiar due to the fact that its flow changes direction twice per year. However, in recent years the building of high dams in Southern China and Laos has threatened the strength and volume of the reverse flow into Tonlé Sap; a phenomenon that environmentalists have been slow to recognize or raise concern about. Already fish catches are significantly down.

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Tunisia - March 5th, 2010

Two salt lakes are visible in the middle section of this image of northern Africa: the Chott el Djerid in Tunisia, right, and the Chott Melrhir in Algeria, left. The Grand Erg Oriental of the Sahara Desert begins south of the lakes.

Chott el Djerid is a large endorheic salt lake in southern Tunisia, at. It is the largest salt pan of the Sahara with a surface area of over 7,000 km² (some sources state 5,000 km²). Due to the extreme climate with annual rainfall of only 100 mm and temperatures reaching 50° C, water evaporates from the lake. In summer Chott el Djerid is almost entirely dried up.

Chott Melrhir is a large endorheic salt lake in northeastern Algeria. It has an area of about 6700 km² and is the largest lake in Algeria. It also lies almost entirely below the sea level; the lowest point of Algeria is located here. It regularly dries up and thus becomes a salt pan. Chott Melrhir is designated a Ramsar wetland of international importance.

Tags: Africa Algeria Chott el Djerid Chott Melrhir Grand Erg Oriental Ramsar Wetland Sahara Desert Salt Flats Salt Pans Tunisia |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | | Leave a comment

Peru - February 12th, 2010

The Andes mountains run parallel to the Pacific Ocean, dividing Peru into three geographic regions. This orthorectified image shows two of the three: the highlands and the jungle.

The sierra (highlands) is the region of the Andes; it includes the Altiplano plateau. The selva (jungle) is a wide expanse of flat terrain covered by the Amazon rainforest that extends east from the mountains. Almost 60% of the country’s area is located within this region (70 million hectares), giving Peru the fourth largest area of tropical forest in the world.

Most Peruvian rivers originate in the Andes and drain into one of three basins. Those that drain toward the Pacific Ocean are steep and short, flowing only intermittently. Tributaries of the Amazon River are longer, have a much larger flow, and are less steep once they exit the sierra. Rivers that drain into Lake Titicaca are generally short and have a large flow. Here, some rivers can be seen flowing downwards from the Andes.

Tags: Altiplano Andes Mountains ASAR Orthorectification Peru South America |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | | Leave a comment