Central South America

Few clouds covered Central South America on July 26, 2004, providing the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite this view of the region. Brazil forms the right half of the image, and on the left, from top to bottom are Bolivia, Paraguay, and Argentina. Northern Uruguay is left of center along the bottom of the image. Near the center of the image, a dark green region is sharply defined by the eastern Argentine border, with only a little green spilling over into Brazil on the east. This is Iguazu National Park, the largest remaining fragment of the subtropical Paranaense Forest. Both Brazil and Argentina have preserved sections of the forest in the park, which is centered around the Iguazu Falls on the Iguazu River, the border between the two countries. Outside the protected area, the land has been cleared and replaced with lighter green farmland.

The Iguazu Falls is near the confluence of the Iguazu and Parana Rivers. The Parana River is the large, turquoise river that runs into the upper right corner of the image. MODIS also detected a few scattered fires throughout the region, which are marked in red.

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Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA/GSFC

Published July 29, 2004
Data acquired July 26, 2004

Source:

Terra > MODIS

Collection:

Visible Earth