Eastern China

Higher elevations and latitudes are still colored in winter´s brown, but most of eastern China shown in this true-color Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) from the Terra satellite on April 16, 2003, is wearing spring green. At top (right of center), the Shandong Province has yet to green up, while to its southwest, the Henan Province is looking more spring-like. The mountains of the Shaanxi Province are green at the lower elevations and brown higher up the slopes.

The prominent river running roughly west to east through the bottom part of the image is the Yangtze, which flows past the city of Shanghai and spills its light-colored sediments out into the Huang Hai (Yellow Sea, north of the river mouth) and the Dong Hai (East China Sea, south of the river mouth). South of the River the terrain becomes more mountainous and rugged, and more heavily forested, in contrast to the low basin to the north. The low-lying area is dotted with cities and towns, which appear as brown dots that look like they have been airbrushed over the green background. A few scattered fires were detected by MODIS and are marked with red dots.

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Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA/GSFC

Published April 16, 2003
Data acquired April 16 - 16, 2003

Source:

Terra > MODIS

Topic:

Human Dimensions > Natural Hazards > Fires

Collection:

Visible Earth