This natural-color image from the Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer
(MISR) captures the beauty of the western United States and Canada.
Data from 45 swaths from MISR's vertical-viewing (nadir) camera were
combined to create this cloud-free mosaic. The image extends from 48º N
128º W in the northwest, to 32ºN, 104º W in the southeast, and has been
draped over a shaded relief Digital Terrain Elevation Model from the
United States Geological Survey.
The image area includes much of British Columbia, Alberta and
Saskatchewan in the north, and extends southward to California, Arizona
and New Mexico. The snow-capped Rocky Mountains are a prominent feature
extending through British Columbia, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado and New
Mexico. Many major rivers originate in the Columbia Plateau region of
Washington, Oregon and Idaho. The Colorado Plateau region is
characterized by the vibrant red-colored rocks of the Painted Desert in
Utah and Arizona, and in New Mexico, White Sands National Park is the
large white feature in the Southeast corner of the image with the
Malpais lava flow just to its North. The southwest is dominated by the
Mojave Desert of California and Nevada, California's San Joaquin
Valley, the Los Angeles basin and the Pacific Ocean.
The Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer observes the daylit Earth continuously from pole to pole, and every 9 days views the entire globe between 82 degrees north and 82 degrees south latitude. This data product was generated from a portion of the imagery acquired during 2000-2002. The panels utilize data from blocks 45 to 65 within World Reference System-2 paths 31 to 53.
MISR was built and is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory,
Pasadena, CA, for NASA's Office of Earth Science, Washington, DC. The
Terra satellite is managed by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center,
Greenbelt, MD. JPL is a division of the California Institute of
Technology.
Image credit: NASA/GSFC/LaRC/JPL, MISR Team. Jim Knighton of Clear
Light Image Products (jknighton@clear-light.com) produced the image
mosaic. Please note that the high-resolution TIF image is provided here
at a pixel resolution of approximately 1.1 kilometers, but is available
from the producer at a resolution of 278 meters.
Text acknowledgment: Clare Averill (Acro Service Corporation/Jet Propulsion Laboratory).
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