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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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February 12th, 2010 Category: Image of the day, Rivers, Sediments

Spain and Strait of Gibraltar - January 8th, 2010

Sediments line the coast of Spain and flow far out into the Atlantic Ocean northwest of the Strait of Gibraltar. Most of these come from the Guadalquivir River, which can be observed in the full image as a tan ribbon across the landscape. Further down the coast, near the city of Cadiz, the Guadalete River can also be seen discharging a lesser amount of sediments.

The Guadalquivir is the second longest river in Spain, at 657 kilometers long, and the only great navigable river in the country. It rises in the Cazorla mountain range and terminates by the fishing village of Bonanza, in Sanlúcar de Barrameda, flowing into the Gulf of Cádiz, in the Atlantic Ocean.

The Guadalete River, on the other hand, is smaller and shorter, running for 172 km into the Bay of Cádiz at El Puerto de Santa Maria, south of the city of Cádiz.

Tags: Atlantic Ocean Bay of Cádiz Bonanza Cádiz Cazorla Mountains El Puerto de Santa María Europe Guadalete River Guadalquivir River Gulf of Cádiz Morocco Sanlúcar de Barrameda Spain Strait of Gibraltar |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | | Leave a comment

January 18th, 2010 Category: Image of the day

Morocco - January 2nd, 2010

Sediments frame the western coasts of Morocco (below) and Spain (above) and flow from the Atlantic Ocean (left) through the Strait of Gibraltar into the Mediterranean Sea (right). Although water moves in both directions between the two bodies of water, on the whole and over time, the balance of the water flow is eastwards, due to an evaporation rate within the Mediterranean basin that is higher than the combined inflow of all the rivers that empty into it.

To the south, the Atlas Mountains can be seen running diagonally across Morocco and into Algeria. The entire range extends about 2,500 km (1,500 miles), all the way east to Tunisia. The Sahara Desert can be observed below this range. Another shorter range, the Rif Mountains, are visible just below the strait. These mountains are not part of the Atlas chain.

Tags: Africa Algeria Atlas Mountains Europe Mediterranean Sea Morocco Rif Mountains Sahara Desert Spain Strait of Gibraltar |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | | Leave a comment

October 13th, 2009 Category: Image of the day

Strait of Gibraltar - August 27th, 2009

Close-up of strait

Moroccan coast

The main image here is an orthorectified wide-swath ASAR (radar) image of southern Spain and northern Morocco. It is possible to see a larger area as the width of the swath is five times that of a normal IMM image.

The first close-up focuses on the northeastern coast of Morocco near the port city of Al Hoceima, by the center of the Rif Mountains.

The second close-up focuses on the Strait of Gibraltar. Ships can be seen moving through the strait and clustered around the port city of La Línea de la Concepción, on the eastern isthmus of the Bay of Gibraltar, and the nearby British overseas territory of Gibraltar (right edge).

Tags: Al Hoceima Bay of Gibraltar Gibraltar La Línea de la Concepción Morocco Orthorectification Rif Mountains Spain Strait of Gibraltar Wide-swath |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | | Leave a comment

August 20th, 2009 Category: Snapshots

Strait of Gibraltar - August 12th, 2009

The waters of the Strait of Gibraltar (left) and the Mediterranean Sea (right) show a rippled pattern of internal waves. These are gravity waves that oscillate within, rather than on the surface of, a fluid medium. They arise from perturbations to hydrostatic equilibrium, where balance is maintained between the force of gravity and the buoyant restoring force.

A few ships can be seen passing through the strait separating Spain (above) and Morocco (below). However, the greatest number of vessels is concentrated around the self-governing British overseas territory of Gibraltar, located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean.

This image has been orthorectified so that the land around the strait can be observed free of geometric distortion.

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June 30th, 2009 Category: Snapshots

Strait of Gibraltar - June 21st, 2009

Clusters of white dots along the coastlines of Spain (above) and Morocco (below) indicate the locations of populated or industrial areas, while other white dots in the Strait of Gibraltar (center) mark the presence of ships.

The bright white area at the lower left of this orthorectified ASAR (radar) image is the port city of Tangiers, Morocco, while that at the lower right is the Spanish enclave of Ceuta.

Across the strait, Spanish cities such as Algeciras and La Línea de la Concepción are visible in the upper right quadrant, with Tarifa visible in the center of the image. The bright white peninsula on the coastline, just south of La Línea, is the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar.

Tags: Algeciras Ceuta Gibraltar La Línea de la Concepción Morocco Orthorectification Spain Strait of Gibraltar Tangiers Tarifa |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | | Leave a comment