August 13th, 2010 Category: Image of the day, Mountains

Spain and Portugal - July 30th, 2010

This image shows the countries of Spain (center, right) and Portugal (left) on the Iberian Peninsula. Spain comprises about 84 percent of the peninsula.

Part of France is visible in the upper right corner, beyond the Pyrenees. This mountain range extends 435 km (270 mi) from the Mediterranean to the Bay of Biscay.

In the extreme south of Spain lies the Strait of Gibraltar, which separate Spain and the rest of Europe from Morocco in north Africa; at its narrowest extent, Spain and Morocco are separated by only 13 km (8.1 mi). Part of Morocco can be seen across the strait, at the bottom of the image.

The majority of Spain’s peninsular region consists of the Meseta Central, a highland plateau rimmed and dissected by mountain ranges. The plateau appears tan in color, while the mountain ranges appear dark brown and green.

Other landforms include narrow coastal plains and some lowland river valleys, the most prominent of which is the Andalusian Plain in the southwest. Many river valleys contain agricultural areas whose green fields can be seen in the full image.

Tags: Meseta Central Portugal Pyrenees Spain Strait of Gibraltar |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | | Leave a comment

August 11th, 2010 Category: Dust Storms

Canary Islands - July 30th, 2010

Dust blows across arid northwestern Africa and over the Atlantic Ocean and the Canary Islands, belonging to Spain. Most of the dust over the ocean is concentrated off the Ras Nouadhibou Peninsula, divided between Morocco/Western Sahara (north) and Mauritania (south).

Despite the veil of dust, the Canary Islands can be observed quite well in the full image. The islands from largest to smallest are: Tenerife, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, La Palma, La Gomera, El Hierro, La Graciosa, Alegranza and Montaña Clara.

Tags: Canary Islands Dust Mauritania Morocco Ras Nouadhibou Peninsula |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | | Leave a comment

July 24th, 2010 Category: Lakes

Algeria - June 30th, 2010

The part of Algeria near its border with Morocco is hilly (upper left quadrant), although as one moves southeastward these higher elevations gradually give way to a steppe landscape, and finally to the dunes of the Sahara Desert.

Despite the rather arid nature of the region, one lake can be seen to the right of the image center. In the full image, its colors range from dark blue to green, in contrast with the golden dunes nearby.

Tags: Algeria Morocco Sahara Desert |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | | Leave a comment

July 22nd, 2010 Category: Rivers

Spain - June 26th, 2010

The Strait of Gibraltar is a narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea and separates Spain in Europe from Morocco in Africa. The two continents are separated by 7.7 nautical miles (14.24 km) of ocean at the strait’s narrowest point.

The British overseas territory of Gibraltar is visible on the northern shores of the strait as a pointed peninsula east of a rounded bay. Moving around the coast to the west, the Guadalquivir River can be seen discharging greenish sediments.

Tags: Guadalquivir River Morocco Spain Strait of Gibraltar |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | | Leave a comment

July 7th, 2010 Category: Snapshots

Spain - June 30th, 2010

The Strait of Gibraltar, left, is the narrow strait that separates the countries of Spain (above) and Morocco (below), and the continents of Europe and Africa. It also connects to Atlantic Ocean (left) to the Mediterranean Sea (right).

On the northern shores of the strait is the British overseas territory of Gibraltar. The territory itself is a peninsula of 6.843 square kilometres (2.642 sq mi) whose isthmus connects to the north with Spain. Upon opening the full image, the peninsula, grey in color with a pointy tip, is easily identifiable at the entrance to the Mediterranean.

Tags: Gibraltar Morocco Spain Strait of Gibraltar |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | | Leave a comment

May 29th, 2010 Category: Snapshots

Morocco and Algeria - April 14th, 2010

This image stretches across Morocco to Algeria, from fertile green coastal areas to the sandy dunes of the Sahara Desert. The Strait of Gibraltar is also visible in the upper left corner.

The dunes of the desert areas are in the upper part of the Grand Erg Occidental (also known as the Western Sand Sea), the second largest erg in northern Algeria, after the Grand Erg Oriental.

Tags: Algeria Grand Erg Occidental Morocco Sahara Desert Strait of Gibraltar Western Sand Sea |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | | Leave a comment

May 26th, 2010 Category: Lakes, Mountains, Rivers

Morocco - April 14th, 2010

Fez (or Fes) is the third largest city in Morocco, with a population of just over one million. The city was founded on a bank of the Fez River by Idriss I in 789. Today is the capital of the Fès-Boulemane region. It is visible as a tan area near the center of the image, southwest of the Idriss I Reservoir and southeast of the El Wahda Reservoir.

Located along the Atlas Mountains, Fes has a seasonal climate, shifting from cool in winter to hot days in the summer months of July-September. The nights are always cool (or colder in winter), with daytime temperatures generally rising about +9~14 C° (+15~26 F°) every day. The winter highs typically reach only 16 °C (61 °F) in December-January.

Tags: Africa Atlas Mountains El Wahda Reservoir Fes Fès-Boulemane Region Fez Fez River Idriss I Reservoir Morocco |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | | Leave a comment

May 13th, 2010 Category: Image of the day, Volcanoes

Ash Plume, Iceland - May 12th, 2010

Close-up of Plume

Despite the clouds covering most of Iceland and the surrounding ocean, the location of the volcano Eyjafjallajokul is easily pinpointed at the origin of the plume of ash. At the time this image was taken, winds were blowing the ash due east.

On May 11th and 12th, the volcanic ash cloud from Iceland reached the air space of Turkey as well as North African countries. Around 5 airports in Morocco were shut down as a precautionary measure due to the ash cloud.

The ash cloud from the 2010 Iceland volcano also closed airspace over Southern Spain, which caused airports to be shutdown in some Spanish Islands. Turkey affected by the volcanic ash as previously mentioned, but 2 airports were functional in Istanbul.

Tags: Ash Eruption Europe Eyjafjallajokul Flights Iceland Katla Volcano Volcano |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | | Leave a comment

May 5th, 2010 Category: Clouds, Dust Storms, Image of the day

Morocco - April 28th, 2010

Kármán Vortices

Dust blows off the western coast of Africa, over the Canary Islands (upper right quadrant) and the shores of Morocco/Western Sahara (above) and Mauritania (below).

In the full image and the close-up, the dust reaches further south to the islands of Cape Verde. There, clouds forming Kármán Vortex Streets extend in a spiralling, paisley pattern from the islands to the southwest.

Tags: Africa Canary Islands Cape Verde Dust Kármán Vortex streets Mauritania Morocco Western Sahara |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | | Leave a comment