The South Island, New Zealand

Colors ranging from deep brown to stark white give New Zealand’s South Island its intense beauty. The snow-capped Southern Alps run down the northern shore of the island. The mountains are rising as the Pacific Plate, the section of the Earth’s crust that holds the Pacific Ocean, including parts of New Zealand’s South Island, sinks beneath the Australia Plate, which holds the rest of New Zealand.

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NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC

Published December 22, 2007
Data acquired December 7, 2007

Source:

Aqua > MODIS