Volga River Delta

The Volga River drains much of western Russia’s industrial region as it travels southward to empty into the Caspian Sea. Over thousands of years, the river has built a tremendous delta that forms the northwestern shoreline of the Caspian Sea. The delta channels provide transportation between the heartland of Russia and the oil-rich Caspian Sea. The Volga’s extensive distributaries (branches to the sea) harbor habitat and rich fishing grounds for Russia’s famous beluga sturgeon, the source of beluga caviar. The delta’s wetlands, parts of which are designated as the Astrakhanskiy Biosphere Reserve, are important stopping points and breeding grounds for migrating water birds. This detailed astronaut photograph zooms in on a shipping channel in the western part of the delta.

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Astronaut photograph ISS013-E-77351 was acquired September 5, 2006, with a Kodak 760C digital camera using an 800 mm lens. Astronaut photograph ISS005-E-11203 was acquired August 25, 2002 with a Kodak 760C digital camera using a 48 mm lens. Both images are provided by the ISS Crew Earth Observations experiment and the Image Science & Analysis Group, Johnson Space Center. The images in this article have been cropped and enhanced to improve contrast. The International Space Station Program supports the laboratory to help astronauts take pictures of Earth that will be of the greatest value to scientists and the public, and to make those images freely available on the Internet. Additional images taken by astronauts and cosmonauts can be viewed at the NASA/JSC Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth.

Published October 23, 2006

Source:

ISS > Digital Camera

Collection:

Astronaut Photography