Mexico - January 3rd, 2012

This APM image shows a change from mountains to flat terrain by the border of Chiapas, Mexico and Guatemala. Visible in the upper left quadrant is the Lacandon Jungle (Spanish: Selva Lacandona), an area of rainforest which stretches from Chiapas, Mexico into Guatemala and into the southern part of the Yucatán Peninsula. The heart of this rainforest is located in the Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve in Chiapas near the border with Guatemala in the Montañas del Oriente region of the state.

The Lacandon has approximately 1.9 million hectares stretching from southeast Chiapas into northern Guatemala and into the southern Yucatán Peninsula. The Chiapas portion is located on the Montañas del Oriente (Eastern Mountains) centered on a series of canyonlike valleys called the Cañadas, between smaller mountain ridges oriented from northwest to southeast. It is bordered by the Guatemalan border on two sides with Comitán de Domínguez to the southwest and the city of Palenque to north.

The dark red spot near the right edge of the image is the Laguna Lachuá, a Karstic lake in Guatemala. It is located in the middle of a national park covered with tropical rain forest, northwest of Cobán, near the border between the departments of Alta Verapaz and El Quiché. The lake is near circular in shape and is probably a cenote or doline. The Peyan river forms the principal water inflow and the Lachua river its main outflow.

Tags: APM Cañadas Chiapas Guatemala Lacandon Jungle Laguna Lachuá Mexico Montañas del Oriente Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve | | Leave a comment

Argentina - February 6th, 2012

Sediments from the Naposta Stream flow past the city of Bahía Blanca and Isla Trinidad, in the southern part of the Province of Buenos Aires, and into the Atlantic Ocean. Moving south down the coastline in the full image, the twin cities of Viedma and Carmen de Patagones can be observed on opposite sides of the Río Negro River.

Continuing further south, one comes to the Valdés Peninsula, an important nature reserve and UNESCO World Heritage Site of about 3,625 km2 (896,000 acres; 1,400 sq mi) in size. Most of the peninsula is barren land with some salt lakes. The largest of these lakes is at an elevation of about 40 m below sea level. The coastline is inhabited by marine mammals, like sea lions, elephant seals and fur seals.

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Tags: Argentina Bahia Blanca Carmen de Patagones Isla Trinidad Naposta Stream Valdés Peninsula Viedma | | Leave a comment

Uganda- February 3rd, 2012

This orthorectified wide-swath ASAR image focuses on Lake Victoria, an African Great Lake and the continent’s largest lake by surface area, at 68,800 square kilometres (26,600 sq mi). It is the second largest freshwater lake by surface area in the world. In terms of its volume, Lake Victoria is the world’s eighth largest continental lake, and it contains about 2,750 cubic kilometers (2.2 billion acre-feet) of water.

Visible as a white area near the northern shores is Kampala, the largest city and capital of Uganda. Kampala features a tropical wet and dry climate, however due to city’s higher altitudes, average temperatures are noticeably cooler than what is typically seen in other cities with this type of climate. Another facet of Kampala’s weather is that it features two distinct wet seasons. There is a lengthy rainy season from August through December and another shorter rainy season that begins in February and lasts through June.

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Indonesia - February 9th, 2012

This orthorectified wide-swath ASAR image shows several islands in Indonesia: (from left to right) Java (mainly East Java), Bali and Lombok. Also visible at the top are Madura (left) and Saubi (right).

East Java is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the eastern part of the island of Java and includes neighboring Madura and islands to its east (the Kangean and Sapudi groups) and to its north (Bawean and the Masalembu Islands). The provincial capital is Surabaya, the second largest city in Indonesia and a major industrial center and port.

Many volcanic peaks can be seen on the islands. One of the most prominent is Mount Rinjani, on Lombok, visible near the right edge. This active volcano on Lombok rises to 3726 m, making it the second highest volcano in Indonesia. On the top of the volcano is a 6 km by 8.5 km caldera, partially filled by Segara Anak (Child of the Sea) lake. This lake is approximately 2000 metres above sea level and estimated at 200 metres deep.

Tags: Bali East Java Indonesia Java Lombok Madura Mount Rinjani Saubi Surabaya Wide-swath ASAR | | Leave a comment

USA - January 4th, 2012

Sediments line the southern shores of Lake Michigan, one of the North American Great Lakes, USA. The land to the east is dusted with snow, while that to the west, including the city of Chicago visible along the southwestern part of the lake’s shoreline, is snow free.

Lake Michigan is the only one of the Great Lakes wholly within the borders of the United States; the others are shared with Canada. It has a surface area of 22,400 square miles (58,000 km2), making it the largest lake entirely within one country by surface area, and the fifth largest lake in the world. It is 307 miles (494 km) long by 118 miles (190 km) wide with a shoreline 1,640 miles (2,640 km) long. The lake’s average depth is 46 fathoms 3 feet (279 ft; 85 m), while its greatest depth is 153 fathoms 5 feet (923 ft; 281 m). It contains a volume of 1,180 cubic miles (4,918 km³) of water.

Tags: Chicago Great Lakes Lake Michigan Snow USA | | Leave a comment

Venezuela - January 3rd, 2012

This orthorectified wide-swath ASAR image shows Ciudad Guayana (visible just above the image center), a city in Bolívar State, Venezuela. It lies south of the Orinoco, where the river is joined by the Caroní River. The city, officially founded in 1961, is actually composed of the old town of San Félix at the east and the new town of Puerto Ordaz at the west, which lie either banks of the Caroní and are connected by three bridges. The city stretches 40 kilometers along the south bank of the Orinoco.

The Orinoco is one of the longest rivers in South America at 2,140 km (1,330 mi). Its drainage basin, sometimes called the Orinoquia, covers 880,000 square kilometres (340,000 sq mi), with 76.3% of it in Venezuela and the remainder in Colombia. The Orinoco and its tributaries are the major transportation system for eastern and interior Venezuela and the llanos of Colombia. The Caroni River is the second most important river of Venezuela, the second in flow, and one of the longest, at 952 km. Visible in the lower part of the image is the large reservoir created by the Guri Dam on the Caroni River.

Tags: Caroni River Ciudad Guayana Guri Reservoir Orinoco River Venezuela | | Leave a comment

Cyprus - January 2nd, 2012

This orthorectified wide-swath ASAR image shows the major mountain ranges and cities of the island nation of Cyprus. The large, wide mountain range crossing the center of the island is the Troodos Range, whose highest peak, Mount Olympus, reaches 1,952 metres. Parallel to the northern shoreline is a narrow chain of mountains that reach only about half the height of the former: the Kyrenia Mountains.

Visible as large white areas are Cyprus’ three largest cities: Nicosia, Limassol and Larnaca. Nicosia, the capital and largest city in the country, can be observed near the center of the island. Limassol, the second-largest city in Cyprus, is visible by the shoreline, south of the Troodos Mountains. Finally, Larnaca, the third largest city, can be seen by the shoreline southeast of Nicosia and east of the Troodos Mountains.

Tags: Cyprus Kyrenia Mountain Range Larnaca Limassol Nicosia Troodos Mountains Wide-swath ASAR | | Leave a comment

Iran and Pakistan - February 8th, 2012

Close-up

What may be dust or smoke intermixed with clouds (which tend to form around particles in the air) is visible off the coast of Iran (left) and Pakistan (right) in this image. In the close-up, ripples from air currents can be observed in the cloud.

Visible near the right edge is the Indus River flowing downwards from the Himalayas and into the Arabian Sea. Visible by the top edge in the upper left quadrant are desert dunes in the Kandahar Province of Afghanistan.

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Italy, Albania, Greece - January 4th, 2012

This FAPAR image shows the vegetation index of southern Italy (including Sicily, partially visible at the bottom of the left edge), as well as southwestern Albania and western Greece. More of the landscape of these countries can be observed in the full image.

The index of photosynthetic activity is generally good Italy, as per the generally green color. Some patches of high activity (rusty red) can be observed in Sicily and on the Gargano Peninsula (upper left corner). Areas of low activity (yellow) are present mostly in Albania and at higher elevations in Greece. 

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