Snow in the Rockies

The high peaks of the Rocky Mountains are covered with snow long before the surrounding lowlands. By December 19, 2004, early snow storms had brought a dusting of white to Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico. The Colorado River is fed by mountain snow in Colorado, shown in the center of the image. The river itself can be seen winding across the pink deserts of the southeast corner of Utah and into northern Arizona where it cut the Grand Canyon. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) flying aboard NASA’s Terra satellite took this true-color image.

---

Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA/GSFC

Published December 22, 2004
Data acquired December 19, 2004

Source:

Terra > MODIS