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Salt Ponds, South San Francisco Bay
Published July 21, 2002
The red and green colors of the salt ponds in South San Francisco Bay are brilliant visual markers for astronauts. The STS-111 crew photographed the bay south of the San Mateo bridge in June, 2002.
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Pacific NW—Washington, Vancouver Island
Published June 30, 2002
his cloudless view of northwestern Washington and southeastern British Columbia is a study in varied land-use patterns: the forested Olympic Peninsula and Cascade Range contrast with the wheatlands of the drier east side of the mountains. The checkerboard pattern of clearcut forest is accented by snow in the range east of Seattle. Major cities and seaports of the Pacific Northwest—Seattle, Tacoma and Vancouver—take advantage of the deep, sheltered channels.
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New Cornelia Mine, Arizona
Published June 23, 2002
Although this photograph may appear to be a small pit mine as seen from the air, it is actually a pit mine that is about a mile wide and just over a thousand feet deep as photographed by astronauts orbiting the Earth on board the International Space Station. The New Cornelia Mine is located just south of Ajo, Arizona. Small-scale mining of copper in this area began with the Spaniards and Mexicans as early as 1750. This large-scale, systematic operation began in 1912 and expanded rapidly for the next 50 years. Since the mid 1980s, activity has been limited because of low prices for copper on the world market. Note the tailings deposits to the east (right) and the larger containment ponds for extraction processes to the northeast.
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Rocky Mountain Fires
Published June 21, 2002
This photograph taken by the new International Space Station crew on June 18, 2002, shows the eastern flank of the Hayman Fire burning in the foothills southwest of Denver.
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Published June 20, 2002
This photograph taken by the new International Space Station crew on June 18, 2002, shows the Hayman Fire burning in the foothills southwest of Denver.
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Plantation forestry harvesting near Tokoroa , New Zealand
Published June 16, 2002
Forests are being harvested near Tokoroa, New Zealand, which has been described as the hub of New Zealand’s forestry industry. The large tan areas are cleared forests. The land use pattern that looks like tan beads on a string are clearings used to stock timber before it is sent to pulp and paper mills about 4 kilometers south of Tokoroa. The light green areas around the town are dairy farms.
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Wolf and Copper Fires Near Los Angeles
Published June 15, 2002
This photograph taken from the International Space Station on June 7, 2002, shows the Wolf and Copper Fires burning in the hills outside Los Angeles.
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This photograph taken from the International Space Station on June 7, 2002, shows the Copper Fire burning in the hills outside Los Angeles.
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Saharan Dust over Senegal
Published June 9, 2002
Airborne African dust regularly reaches northeastern South America and the Caribbean. Westward dust transport from the Sahara across the central Atlantic has been a common occurrence this spring, with major events visible in both satellite images and photographs. Cap Vert, the westernmost point of Senegal, is dimly visible beneath the dust mass (center); the Arquipélago dos Bijagós in Guinea Bissau lies opposite the mouth of the sediment-laden Rio Corubal.
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Bullock Fire
Published June 4, 2002
This image of the Bullock Fire was taken by the crew of the International Space Station using a digital camera on May 23, 2002, two days after the fire began. By May 25, fighting the fire was listed as the top national priority.
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Egmont National Park, New Zealand
Published June 2, 2002
The lush forests of Egmont National Park, on New Zealand‘s North Island, contrast with the pasturelands outside the circular park boundaries. The unique shape of the park results from its first protection in 1881, which specified that a forest reserve would extend in a 9.6-kilometer radius from the summit of Mt. Taranaki (named Mt. Egmont by Captain Cook). The park covers about 33,500 hectares and Mt. Egmont stands 2518 meters tall. The volcano began forming 70,000 years ago, and last erupted in 1755. A series of montane habitats occur in procession up the flanks of the volcano—from rainforest, to shrubs, to alpine, and finally snow cover.
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San Francisco Bay
Published May 26, 2002
Astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) took this photograph of the San Francisco Bay area in April, 2002. The gray urban footprint of San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose, and their surrounding suburbs contrast strongly with the green hillsides. Of particular note are the Pacific Ocean water patterns that are highlighted in the sun glint. Sets of internal waves traveling east impinge on the coastline south of San Francisco. At the same time, fresher bay water flows out from the bay beneath the Golden Gate Bridge, creating a large plume traveling westward. Tidal current channels suggest the tidal flow deep in thebay. Because the ISS orbits are not synchronous with the sun, astronauts view the Earth with variable solar illumination angles. This allows them to document phenomena such as the sun reflecting differentially off surface waters in a way that outlines complicated water structures.
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