A catalog of NASA images and animations of our home planet

• Credit:

  Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA/GSFC

A blue green halo of shallow water surrounds the deep green Yucatan Peninsula of southeastern Mexico in this true-color Terra MODIS image from December 8, 2003. In the southwestern end of the halo, rivers deposit brown clouds of sediment into the water, which eventually fade to a milky green as they dissipate. On the western side of the peninsula, blue-green waters highlight bays as well as the islands and cays of Belize’s Barrier Reef (right edge). At roughly 180 miles in length, the reef is the second-longest in the world.

A few fires were detected scattered around the scene (marked in red). Most are concentrated in southern Guatemala, though a handful of fires were also detected in Mexico, El Salvador, and Nicaragua. Honduras remained fire-free.

Images & Animations

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• NASA Official: Steven E. Platnick
• Database Updated: May 6, 2013