A catalog of NASA images and animations of our home planet

• Credit:

  Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA/GSFC

The swollen rivers of Western Turkey cut dark blue ribbons across the brilliant green landscape of this false-color Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) image. Starting on January 24, 2004, a rare winter storm blanketed Western Turkey with snow. The equivalent of a month’s precipitation fell around Istanbul in just 24 hours. By February 7, when the Aqua satellite acquired this image, most of the snow had melted, filling the rivers that flow into the Aegean Sea. The Meric (Evros) River in the top left corner, and the Menderes River in the bottom third of the image seem particularly full. Only patches of snow, which appear light blue in this image, remain in the higher elevations.

Images & Animations

• Webmaster: Paul Przyborski
• NASA Official: Steven E. Platnick
• Database Updated: May 22, 2013