May 19th, 2010 Category: Rivers, Vegetation Index

USA - April 28th, 2010

This FAPAR image shows the vegetation index of the land east and west of the Mississippi River in the United States of America. The states of Mississippi, Arkansas, Tennessee and Missouri are visible here in the Mississippi Basin.

The river, its tributaries, and surrounding marshy areas appear yellow in color. The rest of the terrain appears green, indicating a good index of photosynthetic activity, and red, indicating high activity.

Tags: Arkansas FAPAR Mississippi Mississippi River Missouri North America Tennessee |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | | Leave a comment

April 20th, 2010 Category: Image of the day, Rivers

USA - March 5th, 2010

West of the brown, curving ribbon of the Mississippi River and amidst the surrounding tan landscape is the White River National Wildlife Refuge, identifiable as a large area of dark green vegetation. The refuge is located in Desha, Monroe, Phillips, and Arkansas counties in the USA state of Arkansas.

The White River National Wildlife Refuge has a surface area of 160,000 acres (650 km2) – it is 3 to 10 miles (4.8 to 16 km) wide and encompasses 90 miles (140 km) of the lower 100 miles (160 km) of the White River.

The refuge lies with the Mississippi lowland forests ecoregion. Amidst the forest are 356 natural and man-made lakes, which make up 4,000 acres (16 km2) of the refuge. There are 154,000 acres (620 km2) of forestland, 900 acres (3.6 km2) of agricultural land, and 1,000 acres (4.0 km2) of grassland. It is classified as a Wetland of International Importance.

Tags: Arkansas Arkansas County Desha County Mississippi River Monroe County Phillips County USA Wetlands White River White River National Wildlife Refuge |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | | Leave a comment

March 30th, 2010 Category: Lakes, Rivers

USA - March 5th, 2010

The Mississippi River appears as a greenish brown ribbon through the center of this image, marking the border between Tennessee (right) and Arkansas (left), USA. Along its path it flows near Reelfoot Lake (top center), a shallow natural lake located in the northwest portion of Tennessee.

Much of it is really more of a swamp, with bayou-like ditches (some natural, some man-made) connecting more open bodies of water called basins, the largest of which is called Blue Basin.

Reelfoot Lake is noted for its bald cypress trees and its nesting pairs of bald eagles. It is the site of Reelfoot Lake State Park. Lake Isom, a similar, smaller lake to the immediate south, is a National Wildlife Refuge area.

Tags: Arkansas Blue Basin Lake Isom Mississippi River Reelfoot Lake Reelfoot Lake State Park Tennessee |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | | Leave a comment

March 24th, 2010 Category: Lakes

USA - March 5th, 2010

Lake Ouachita is a reservoir created by the damming of the Ouachita River by the Blakely Mountain Dam. The lake is located near Hot Springs, Arkansas, USA. It is completely surrounded by the Ouachita National Forest.

Lake Ouachita is the largest lake completely in Arkansas, as the larger Bull Shoals Lake extends into Missouri. Lake Ouachita has over 690 miles (1,110 km) of shoreline and over 40,000 acres (16,000 ha) of water.

A topic of debate is the vegetation that covers 10% of the lake. Lake Ouachita’s vegetation is being addressed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, and the Lake Ouachita Association to control the hydrilla and Eurasian watermilfoil.

The goal of the project is to contain and reduce — not to eradicate — the vegetation, since the presence of aquatic vegetation in moderate amounts is beneficial to the lake’s fishery.

Tags: Algae Arkansas Blakely Mountain Dam Hot Springs Lake Ouachita Ouachita National Forest Ouachita River USA |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | | Leave a comment

March 3rd, 2010 Category: Lakes, Rivers

USA - February 23rd, 2010

Many artificial lakes across Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Kansas (clockwise from upper right quadrant) can be observed here, scattered across the tan terrain. One of the most prominent is Stockton Lake, towards the upper right, shaped like an upside-down “V”.

Stockton Lake is located in southeastern Cedar County, northeastern Dade County, and southwestern Polk County, Missouri. The lake is V-shaped, and covers 39 square miles (100 km2), with 298 miles (480 km) of shoreline.

Stockton Lake is one of Missouri’s seven major lakes, all man-made. It was formed by damming the Sac River near the city of Stockton in 1969. It has a “non-development policy,” and is surrounded by unspoiled, tree-covered hills.

Tags: Arkansas Cedar County Dade County Kansas Missouri Oklahoma Polk County Sac River Stockton Stockton Lake USA |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | | Leave a comment

February 2nd, 2010 Category: Rivers, Vegetation Index

USA - January 1st, 2010

This FAPAR image shows the vegetation index of the land in the Mississippi River Basin, in the United States of America. Visible states include Mississippi, Arkansas, Tennessee and Missouri.

The photosynthetic activity here ranges from good (green) to low (yellow), with land to the southwest,  in Arkansas, showing the best activity and land to the north showing the least activity. The river and its tributaries appear blue.

Tags: Arkansas FAPAR Mississippi Mississippi River Mississippi River Basin Missouri North America Tennessee USA |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | | Leave a comment

January 7th, 2010 Category: Rivers

USA - November 8th, 2009

The Mississippi River (right) forms most of Arkansas’s eastern border, except in Clay and Greene counties and in dozens of places where the current channel of the Mississippi has meandered from where it had last been legally specified.

Arkansas is a land of mountains and valleys, thick forests and fertile plains. The so-called Lowlands are better known by names of their two regions, the Delta and the Grand Prairie. The Arkansas Delta is a flat landscape of rich alluvial soils formed by repeated flooding of the adjacent Mississippi. Further away from the river, in the southeast portion of the state, the Grand Prairie consists of a more undulating landscape. Both are fertile agricultural areas.

Tags: Agriculture Arkansas Arkansas Delta Grand Prairie Mississippi River |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | | Leave a comment

June 11th, 2009 Category: Rivers, Snapshots

Southern USA - June 2nd, 2009

The Southern United States constitutes a large distinctive region in the southeastern and south-central United States. As defined by the US Census Bureau, this region includes sixteen states and the District of Columbia.

The Census Bureau also defined three smaller units, or divisions: the South Atlantic States, the East South Central States and the West South Central States.

The South Atlantic States division comprises Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Washington, D.C., and Delaware.

The East South Central States unit is composed of Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi and Tennessee.

Finally, the West South Central States division includes Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas.

Biologically, the South is a vast, diverse region, having numerous climatic zones, including temperate, sub-tropical, tropical, and arid.

However, the South is generally regarded as being hot and humid, with long summers and short mild winters, being significantly warmer than the rest of the country. Many crops grow easily in its soils and can be grown without frost for at least six months of the year.

Several geographical features of note in this image are the the bayous and swampland of the Gulf Coast (bottom), especially in Louisiana, the Appalachian Mountains (running diagonally across from the center to the upper right), and the Mississippi River (flowing vertically parallel to the left edge).

Tags: Alabama Appalachian Mountains Arkansas Delaware East South Central States Florida Georgia Gulf of Mexico Kentucky Louisiana Maryland Mississippi Mississippi River North Carolina Oklahoma South Atlantic States South Carolina Tennessee Texas USA Virginia Washington DC West South Central States West Virginia |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | | Leave a comment

March 4th, 2009 Category: Snapshots

Snow over East Coast of USA - March 4th, 2009

Skies over the East Coast of the United States of America have cleared since the huge snow storm that hit the region a few days ago.

Coastal states from Maine (northeast) to Georgia (southeast) received up to 30 centimeters (1 foot) of snow, reported the New York Times, and the storm even hit inland states as far west as Arkansas.

Here, the snowfall is visible as a wide white strip stretching from Maine (top) to Virginia (center), then curving southwestward through Georgia (bottom left) towards Arkansas.

Parts of North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia nearest to the Atlantic are not snow-covered.

Lake Ontario (top left) appears dark blue and free of ice, while Lake Erie, just to its South, has a coat of ice.

To their East, New York City and Long Island stand out in white against the dark blue of the Atlantic Ocean. Offshore, clouds over the ocean form streaked patterns.

Please click here for a previous article on this storm and the Great Lakes.

Tags: Arkansas Atlantic Ocean Connecticut Delaware East Coast Georgia Long Island Maine Maryland Massachusetts New Hampshire New York New York City North Carolina Rhode Island Snow Snowstorm South Carolina USA Vermont Virginia |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | | Leave a comment