July 24th, 2012 Category: Fires, Lakes

USA – July 23rd, 2012

Smoke from a rabid brush fire in the rural Niobrara River valley of Nebraska, bordering South Dakota, can be seen in the lower half of this image. The fire is being referred to as the Fairfield Creek Fire. Visible in the upper half of the image is the snakelike Lake Oahe, in South Dakota.

An overnight aerial survey using infrared technology provided officials with an updated estimate of about 50,000 acres burned, compared with previous estimates approaching 100,000 acres. However, winds gusting to 30 mph are expected to fan the flames.

Tags: Fairfield Creek Fire Fires Lake Oahe Nebraska Niobrara River Valley South Dakota USA | Comments |

April 2nd, 2012 Category: Lakes, Rivers

USA - December 23rd, 2011

The Missouri River winds its way across this image of North and South Dakota, USA. Two large reservoirs can be seen along the river’s course: Lake Sakakawea (upper left quadrant) and Lake Oahe (lower right quadrant).

Lake Sakakawea is a reservoir in the Missouri River basin in central North Dakota. It is the third largest man-made lake in the United States, and was created by the Garrison Dam. Here, the western part of the lake appears frozen. Snow can be seen dusting the terrain across the left side of the image as well.

Lake Oahe, on the other hand, is not frozen. It is a large reservoir behind Oahe Dam on the Missouri River beginning in central South Dakota and continuing north into North Dakota in the United States. The lake has an area of 370,000 acres (1,500 km2) and a maximum depth of 205 ft (62 m). By volume, it is the fourth-largest reservoir in the US.

Tags: Garrison Dam Lake Oahe Lake Sakakawea Missouri River North Dakota Oahe Dam South Dakota USA | Comments |

February 19th, 2012 Category: Lakes, Rivers

USA - January 4th, 2012

This image shows the Missouri River flowing through the state of South Dakota, USA. It is the longest river in North America and a major waterway of the central United States. Rising in the Rocky Mountains of western Montana, the Missouri flows east and south for 2,341 miles (3,767 km) before entering the Mississippi River north of St. Louis, Missouri. The river takes drainage from a sparsely populated, semi-arid watershed of more than half a million square miles (1,300,000 km2), which includes parts of ten U.S. states and two Canadian provinces.

The particularly wide section of the river in the upper left quadrant is Lake Oahe, a large reservoir behind the Oahe Dam on the Missouri River beginning in central South Dakota and continuing north into North Dakota in the United States. The lake has an area of 370,000 acres (1,500 km2) and a maximum depth of 205 ft (62 m). By volume, it is the fourth-largest reservoir in the US. Lake Oahe has a length of approximately 231 mi (372 km) and has a shoreline of 2,250 mi (3,620 km).

Tags: Lake Oahe Missouri River South Dakota USA | Comments |

January 6th, 2012 Category: Lakes, Rivers

USA - December 26th, 2011

What appears as a very wide section of the Missouri River in central South Dakota, USA, is the Lake Sharpe reservoir behind Big Bend Dam. The lake has an area of 56,884 acres (230.20 km2) and a maximum depth of 78 ft (24 m). Lake Sharpe is approximately 80 mi (130 km) long, with a shoreline of 200 mi (320 km).

The lake extends up the course of the Missouri River to Oahe Dam and Lake Oahe, partially visible through the clouds in the full image Both the Big Bend Dam and the Oahe Dam were built for power generation and flood control.

Tags: Big Bend Dam Lake Oahe Lake Sharpe Missouri River Oahe Dam South Dakota USA | Comments |