Title:[1411] Aldabra Island in the Indian Ocean Caption:This photograph, captured on the 67th orbit of Atlantis' STS-44 mission, shows the Aldabra islands in the Indian Ocean. The coral atoll is part of the Seychelles, north and west of Madagascar. The atoll has a relatively untouched ecosystem. Approximately 10 per cent of the plant and animal life is unique to the atoll, thus its development has been restricted. Scientists studying the STS-44 photography note the remarkable detail of the internal lagoon, the floor of which was created by a build-up of carbonate settlement. A deep channel, scoured by tidal flow, allows sea water exchange in the lagoon. The pattern of shallow sandbars marks the direction of the tidal current. The smaller island of Assumption supports a small runway. 05:45:08 GMT, Nov. 29, 1991. Copyright: Credit:NASA

Title:[1459] Antarctic Ice Shelf Caption:The periphery of the Antarctic ice shelf and the Antarctic Peninsula were photographed by the STS-48 crew members. Strong offshore winds, probably associated with katabatic winds from the interior of the continent, are peeling off the edges of the ice shelf into ribbons of sea ice, icebergs, bergy bits, and growlers into the cold waters of the circum-Antarctic southern ocean. Copyright: Credit:NASA

Title:[1448] Aral Sea Caption:Situated in the middle of an immense desert, much like the Great Salt Lake of Utah, the Aral Sea is landlocked at the center of a broad basin. Rivers flow in, but not out; water escapes only by evaporation. Although the water level has risen and fallen substantially in the past, yearly inflow during the last decade has been declining. Much of the supply has been diverted to numerous irrigation projects. Recent estimates are that since 1960 the lake's water level has dropped 46 feet and its surface has shrunk by almost 40 per cent. The salinity of the lake has nearly tripled. Salt sheets as much as 100 kilometers long rim the shore in some places. Winds dump some 47 million tons of dried salt onto surrounding agricultural areas each year. In its dwindled state, the Aral Sea no longer exerts a moderating influence on air temperature, and the growing season has been shortened. Twenty species of fish in the Aral Sea have become extinct, spelling the end of a fishing industry that at one time employed 60,000 people. Shuttle photographs have allowed scientists to map ancient shorelines and monitor the fluctuation of water level. Copyright: Credit:NASA

Title:[1541] Aral Sea Caption:The Aral Sea was photographed from the Earth-orbiting Space Shuttle Atlantis on March 2, 1990. Coordinates of the area in center frame are 46.5 degrees north latitude and 60.5 degrees east longitude. A 70mm camera was aimed through Atlantis' aft deck flight windows to expose the frame. Copyright: Credit:NASA

Title:[1428] Aswan Dam, on the Nile River, Egypt Caption:The Aswan Dam on the Nile River created a 500 kilometer long reservoir designed to control devastating floods and alleviate famine-producing droughts, which have plagued the region for millennia. In Nov. 1981, Lake Nasser was nearing capacity; however, drought conditions in 1982 lowered the lake level by 30 meters. The scene is dominated by sunglint on Lake Nasser. Clearly seen are exposed lake beds, which were not visible in NASA's 181 photography of this area. The receding shoreline is marked by lines of silt deposition. This 70mm frame was shown by the STS-26 astronaut crew during its Oct. 11, 1988 post-flight press conference. Copyright: Credit:NASA

Title:[1515] Australia Caption:Australia: north part of Western Australia province, Dampier Land, Fitzroy and Lennard Rivers, and the Buccaneer archipelago, as photographed from the Earth-orbiting Space Shuttle Challenger Copyright: Credit:NASA

Title:[1534] Bahamas Caption:This photograph was taken with a hand-held 70mm camera aimed through the "ceiling" windows of the Earth-orbiting Space Shuttle Challenger during its five-day STS-6 mission. A beautiful photo shows the contrast between the islands, clouds, shallow water, and deep water. Islands of the Bahamas seen are New Providence (upper left) and Eleuthera (right). Northeast Providence Channel is at the upper edge and Exuma Sound is at the lower left with the open Atlantic along the right edge. The wind, from the south, causes a long cloud to develop downwind from Eleuthera Point. Copyright: Credit:NASA

Title:[0395] Big Bend National Park, USA Caption:Big Bend National Park, USA Copyright: Credit:NASA

Title:[1409] Botswana Caption:The Okavango river, seen in sunglint, flows into a structural and topographical trough to form an inland delta known as the Okavango Swamp. Water is trapped in the meandering delta distributaries and is evaporated physically or transpired by vegetation, so that only during extreme floods does water flow out of the structural depression toward salt pans to the southeast. The crew of STS-43 captured seasonal burning of savanna vegetation to the north in Angola, and extremely hazy conditions thought to be caused by both smoke and dust, in central Africa. A Linhof camera with a 90mm lens was used to expose the frame at 13:40 GMT, Aug. 8, 1991. Copyright: Credit:NASA

Title:[1424] Canary Islands Caption:This nearly vertical shot shows five of the seven islands in the Canary Islands chain. The largest island in view is Tenerife, and the Canaries' main city is Las Palmas, on the neighboring larger island Gran Canaria. The Canary Islands are a favorite Mecca for tourists because of year-round sunshine. The cloudless condition is a result of the desert-like Sahara climate which extends hundreds of miles west of Africa into the Atlantic Ocean. Water supply is currently a major concern to the population. The islands are all volcanoes situated over one of Earth's "hot spots." The islands have a dark appearance because of black volcanic rocks and associated dark soils. Steep slopes on these volcanoes make soil erosion a major environmental problem, combated by vigorous terracing of the slopes. Citrus groves and vineyards flourish in the hot, dry climate. Southerly winds blowing on the day of this photograph have generated a distinct "island wake" on the sea surface downwind of Gran Canaria. Three of the islands have given rise to cloud banks on their lee sides. The scene was shown by the crew at its May 18, 1989 post-flight press conference. Copyright: Credit:NASA

Title:[0398] Central Andes, Bolivia Caption:Central Andes, Bolivia Copyright: Credit:NASA

Title:[0392] Continental Europe Caption:Continental Europe Copyright:(c) NRSC/Daily Telegraph Library Credit:

Title:[1529] Dasht-E-Kavir desert, Iran Caption:Iran from the Space Shuttle Columbia, considered by NASA photo experts to be one of the most remarkable space photos ever made of the Earth; the photo shows the area of Dasht-E-Kavir. It is about 300 kilometers southeast of Teheran. Intricately folded sediments, mainly slit stones, manes, and other evaporates are leveled by wind erosion and leave these beautiful and colorful formations. It was termed "an outstanding photo!" by Columbia's crew at the post-flight press conference. Copyright: Credit:NASA

Title:[0708] East Coast US Caption:U.S. East Coast Copyright: Credit: National Optical Astronomy Observatories

Title:[1527] Frontier between India (Kashmir) and China (Tibet) Caption:The frontier between India (Kashmir) and China (Tibet) crosses this photo of one of the most remote areas of the earth. The Karakoram and Ledakh ranges of the great Himalayan Mountains have peaks of over 25,000 feet with a great many reaching 20,000 feet. The long, narrow lake system is the Pangong in Kashmir and the end lake is Kako in Tibet. The frontier passes across the narrow land bridge near the photo center dividing the two lakes. Copyright: Credit:NASA

Title:[1422] Galileo satellite image of Earth (Antarctica) Caption:This color picture of Antarctica is one part of a mosaic of pictures covering the entire polar continent taken during the hours following Galileo's historic first encounter with its home planet. The view shows the Ross Ice Shelf to the right and its border with the sea. An occasional mountain can be seen poking through the ice near the McMurdo Station. It is spring in Antarctica, so the sun never sets on the frigid, icy continent. From top to bottom, the frame looks across about half of Antarctica. Copyright: Credit:NASA

Title:[1436] Gora Konder crater in Russia Caption:In the center of this 70mm frame, surrounded by mountainous terrain, is Gora Konder crater in Russia. The 57 degree inclination of Discovery's orbit allowed photographs of seldom observed areas of Earth such as this. The picture was exposed with a 70mm handheld camera from overhead windows on the Shuttle's aft flight deck. Copyright: Credit:NASA

Title:[1408] Great Bahama Bank Caption:A portion of the Great Bahama Bank and the "tongue" of the ocean. The light blue is the bottom of the sea where the Great Bahama Bank is covered by water from 20 to 500 feet deep. At the contact between light and dark blue, an underwater cliff drops about a mile in depth. The wavy lines of various shades of blue are caused by the differential coral growth arising from the warm/cool water transfer in and out of the "tongue." The photograph was made with a NASA modified Hasselblad camera, using medium speed Kodak Ektachrome, aimed through the top window of the flight deck of the Earth-orbiting Space Shuttle Columbia. Copyright: Credit:NASA

Title:[1455] Great Barrier Reef Caption:The Great Barrier Reef extends for roughly 2,000 kilometers along the northeast coast of Australia. The Great Reef is made up of thousands of individual reefs that define the edge of the continental shelf. The southern part of the feature, called the Swain Reef, is seen here. Water depths around the reefs are quite shallow (from less than 1 meter to about 36 meters in depth). However, only a few kilometers offshore, water depths are roughly 1,000 meters. Copyright: Credit:NASA

Title:[0709] Great cyclonic storm Caption:Great cyclonic storm Copyright: Credit:National Optical Astronomy Observatories

Title:[1531] Great desert Dasht-E-Lut (Iran) Caption:Iran has a great desert in the east called the Dasht-E-Lut. An area known as Namak-Zar, about 100 miles east of Kerman, is at the center of this remarkable photograph. A series of very long, parallel ridges and depressions are eroded in the direction of the prevailing winds. This is one of the world's great erosion features and is called a yardang. At the left edge of the photo is a great sand sea deposit of large sand dunes, which are oriented at right angles to the wind. Copyright: Credit:NASA

Title:[1542] Great Salt Lake in Utah Caption:The Great Salt Lake in Utah was photographed from the Earth-orbiting Space Shuttle Atlantis on Feb. 28, 1990. Coordinates of the area in center frame are 41.5 degrees north latitude and 112.5 degrees west longitude. A 70mm camera was aimed through Atlantis' aft deck flight windows to expose the frame. Copyright: Credit:NASA

Title:[1539] Greater New York City Caption: Greater New York City at night was photographed from the Earth-orbiting Space Shuttle Atlantis in March, 1990. Manhattan can be seen in center frame. A 35mm camera was aimed through Atlantis' aft flight deck windows to expose this frame. Copyright: Credit:NASA

Title:[1439] Gulf of California/Mexico Caption:The rugged peninsula and eastern coastal plain of northern Baja California are separated from the rest of Mexico by the Gulf of California. The Colorado River is building a delta into the gulf; most of the surface features seen here, including the sinuous salt-bottomed tidal channel on the delta, have remained unchanged since the first American space flight photos in 1961. Irrigated agriculture along the Gila River can be seen in the upper left hand corner of the photograph, and the Pinacates Volcanic Field in the upper right. An extensive field of sand dunes lines the eastern side of the gulf. A 70mm handheld Hasselblad camera with a 250mm lens was used to expose the frame at 15:22 GMT, Aug. 4, 1991. Copyright: Credit:NASA

Title:[1514] Hawaiian Island chain Caption:The STS-7 crew of astronauts photographed this view of the Hawaiian Island chain with a 70mm camera through the overhead windows of the Challenger's flight deck. Left to right, the islands are Oahu, (with Pearl Harbor), Molokai, Lanai, and Maui. Copyright: Credit:NASA

Title:[0704] High Sierra from 225 miles Caption:High Sierra from 225 miles Copyright: Credit:National Optical Astronomy Observatories

Title:[0696] Himalayan Mountains Caption:Himalayan Mountains Copyright: Credit:National Optical Astronomy Observatories

Title:[1419] Himalayas Caption:STS-2 Onboard view - Himalayas. The snow line can be seen for several miles along the south face of the Himalayan range in India, Kashmir and Punjab. The snow line is at about 12,000 feet. The Chenab River is easily delineated below the snow line. Copyright: Credit:NASA

Title:[1528] Honshu island (Japan) Caption:Honshu Island (Japan) and its snow-covered Fuji-San or Fuji-Yama volcano are the features of this 70mm frame. The volcano peak is 12,400 feet tall. The western suburbs of Tokyo are at the right edge of the photograph. Isu peninsula is at the bottom, separating the Suruga and Sagami bays. Other large cities include Yokohama, Kozu, Shizuoka, Namazu, and Odawara. Copyright: Credit:NASA

Title:[0404] Houston-Galveston metropolitan area Caption: Houston-Galveston metropolitan area Copyright: Credit:NASA

Title:[1415] Island of Eleuthera (Bahamas) Caption:Contrasts between the island of Eleuthera in the Bahamas, the Great Bahama Bank, and the deep surrounding ocean all make for a beautiful space photo. Copyright: Credit:NASA

Title:[1540] Kamchatka Peninsula Caption:Part of the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia was photographed from the Earth-orbiting Space Shuttle Atlantis on March 2, 1990. Coordinates of the area in center frame are 53.0 degrees north latitude and 159.1 degrees east longitude. Three volcanic peaks can be seen in the frame. A 70mm camera was aimed through Atlantis' aft deck flight windows to expose the frame. Copyright: Credit:NASA

Title:[1452] Kashmir, India Caption:This large-format camera image is centered on Kashmir, India, with a view north into the central Takia Makan Desert of eastern China. The extensive layer of haze, visible from India to the West Siberian Plain in Russia, was much more pronounced than expected by Earth Observation Scientists. (11:53:37 GMT, Sept. 15, 1991; the Shuttle was positioned over a point located at 27.4 degrees north latitude and 76.3 degrees east longitude.) Copyright: Credit:NASA

Title:[1444] Kuwait City and nearby islands Caption:This view of the northern portion of the Persian Gulf shows Kuwait City and the Tigris and Euphrates river deltas. The oil-laden sands of the Kuwaiti fields, which were set ablaze during the war, are clearly visible south of Kuwait City as a dark patch surrounded by bright, oil-free desert sands. A comparison of this picture with those taken during recent Space Shuttle missions indicates that the oil-laden sands are gradually being covered by clean, oil-free sands being carried by strong northwest winds called Shmals. Previous Shuttle missions indicate a much darker tone associated with the oil-soaked sands. Also visible within the oil fields are numerous oil lakes, which stand out as small, black, circular, or ovoid areas against the lighter colored sand. Outflow from the Tigris and Euphrates rivers is seen as a plume of turbid water along the coasts of Iraq and Kuwait. The Persian Gulf was recently the subject of 100-day oceanographic research cruise, sponsored by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the International Oceanic Commission (IOC), to study the effects of the 1991 war on the Gulf ecosystem. Photographs such as these will aid researchers in assessing the data collected during the research cruise. Copyright: Credit:NASA

Title:[1406] Lake Titicaca, Peru/Bolivia border Caption:Lake Titicaca has been photographed by a number of Earth-orbiting astronaut crews in the last two decades. The Peru-Bolivia border lake was captured in this 70mm frame by members of the STS-7 astronaut crew in the Earth-orbiting Space Shuttle Challenger. The Bolivian capital city of La Paz is also visible. The Cordillera Real peak is 23,034 feet (7,021 meters) in height. Copyright: Credit:NASA

Title:[1438] Looking westward over the high plateau of the southern Peruvian Andes Caption:This photograph looks westward over the high plateau of the Southern Peruvian Andes west and north of Lake Titicaca (not in field of view). Lima, Peru, lies under the clouds just north of the clear coastal area. Because the high Andes have been uplifted 10,000 to 13,000 feet during the past 20 million years, the rivers that cut down to the Pacific Ocean have gorges almost as deep, such as the Rio Ocona at the bottom of the photograph. The eastern slopes of the Andes are heavily forested, forming the headwaters of the Amazon system. Smoke from burning in the Amazon basin fills river valleys on the right side of the photograph. A Linhof camera was used to take this view. Copyright: Credit:NASA

Title:[0698] Los Angeles Caption:Los Angeles Copyright: Credit:National Optical Astronomy Observatories

Title:[1432] Los Angeles Basin Caption:Large format (five-inch) frame of the Southern California area, featuring the Los Angeles Basin. The picture covers the Pacific Coastal area from Santa Monica on the north to the Oceanside area on the south and includes the San Bernadino/Riverside areas on the east. The photo size is about equal to a map scale of 1:500,000. Copyright: Credit:NASA

Title:[0881] Los Angeles basin (Seasat) Caption:Seasat, L. A. basin Copyright: Credit:National Optical Astronomy Observatories

Title:[1407] Mauna Loa volcano on Hawaii Caption:The Mauna Loa volcano (alt. 13,018 feet) on the island of Hawaii can be seen in this 70mm frame photographed through the overhead windows of the Earth-orbiting Space Shuttle Challenger. A close look reveals lava flows from the active volcano. Copyright: Credit:NASA

Title:[0707] Mediterranean Caption:Earth and Mediterranean Copyright: Credit:National Optical Astronomy Observatories

Title:[1450] Mont Blanc Caption:In this view looking southeast, Mont Blanc, the highest peak in Europe, is just below and right of center (below the end of the prominent valley of the Aosta River, in the center of the photograph). The rivers flow out of the Alps into Italy toward Turin (off the top of the picture). Chamonix, the famous resort town and center of Alpine mountain climbing, lies in the valley just below (north of) Mont Blanc. Near the bottom left corner of the photograph, the Rh(tm)ne River makes its sharp west-to-north turn flowing toward Lake Geneva (off the photo to the bottom). Albertville, site of the 1992 Winter Olympics, is just off the image to the right. Copyright: Credit:NASA

Title:[1445] Mount Pinatubo, near Manila Bay Caption:A 70mm view of Mt. Pinatubo, which erupted in June 1991. Sulfuric acid injected into the stratosphere by the eruption is still evident in limb photographs, and, according to NASA scientists, may have contributed to the unusually cool summer in the northern United States. Ash from the eruption surrounds the mountain; ashfalls caused the evacuation of many people, closed Clark Air Force Base on the eastern side of the mountain, and ruined farmland. All the rivers draining the area have been widened and are now clogged with ash. Note the large white patch along the rivers flowing eastward and southward toward Manila Bay, and westward toward the ocean. Ash and debris flow down rivers as tropical rainstorms pound the area. Significant increases in the area of mudflow deposits since STS-45 (April, 1992) can be seen in this photograph. Copyright: Credit:NASA

Title:[1538] Mountainous terrain Caption:Mountainous terrain Copyright: Credit:NASA

Title:[0702] Nile River Delta Caption:Nile River Delta Copyright: Credit:National Optical Astronomy Observatories

Title:[1442] Northern Arizona and Southern Utah Caption:This large format view shows parts of northern Arizona and southern Utah. San Juan River, Lake Powell, and Monument Valley are visible. Water from Lake Powell can be seen filling the valleys of the Colorado and San Juan Rivers at the top of the image. The darker green areas indicate high, forested country of the lone Navajo Mountain (center left) and Black Mesa (bottom right). Strip mines can be seen south of the rim of Black Mesa. Monument Valley lies between the San Juan River and Black Mesa. Shadows thrown by the individual steep-sided hills make them stand out in the scene. Copyright: Credit:NASA

Title:[0697] Northern Gulf of California Caption:Northern Gulf of California Copyright: Credit:National Optical Astronomy Observatories

Title:[1425] Northern Mexico Caption:One of two frames exposed over northern Mexico in rapid succession through a polarizing filter set at different orientations. Thus, one frame records reflected light that is vertically polarized and the other horizontally polarized light. Scientists at the Johnson Space Center will study the effects of polarization on the reflections from water, soil, and vegetation in these photographs. This polarization example is centered on a lake behind Presa Don Martin, a dam lying on the edge of the Rio Grande Plain near its boundary with the Sierra Madre Oriental in Coahuila, Mexico, just west of its border with Nuevo Leon. The reddish soils shown in both photographs are across the Rio Grande in Texas. The complementary frame number is S30-86-021. The scene was shown by the crew at its May 18, 1989 post-flight press conference. Copyright: Credit:NASA

Title:[1429] Ocean waves generated by submarine canyons off the Horn of Africa Caption:The fronts of these apparently converging internal waves - packets of tidally generated waves traveling within the ocean - were probably produced by interaction with two parallel submarine canyons off the Horn of Africa. This 70mm Hasselblad frame was shown by the STS-26 astronaut crew during its Oct. 11, 1988 post-flight press conference. Copyright: Credit:NASA

Title:[1423] Phytoplankton in the northwest Coral Sea Caption:STS-32 astronauts took this 70mm scene showing phytoplankton or algal bloom in the northwest Coral Sea. The Western Coral Sea and the Great Barrier Reef waters off of Queensland, Australia, are the sites of some of the larger concentrations or "blooms" of phytoplankton and algae in the open ocean. In the instance illustrated here, the leading edge of a probable concentration of algae or phytoplankton is seen as a light irregular line between the offshore Great Barrier Reef and the Queensland coast. Previous phytoplankton concentrations in this area have been reported by ships at sea as having formed floating mats as thick as two meters. This picture was used by the STS-32 astronauts at their Jan. 30, 1990 post-flight press conference. Copyright: Credit:NASA

Title:[0407] Polar jet stream Caption:Polar jet stream Copyright: Credit:NASA

Title:[1532] Red Sea, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Sinai Peninsula, Gulfs of Aqaba and Suez Caption:A Linhof camera scene using the 90mm lens, looking north and showing the Red Sea, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Sinai peninsula, Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez. Copyright: Credit:NASA

Title:[1518] Red Sea, Sinai Caption:The Sinai peninsula dominates this north-looking, oblique view. According to NASA photo experts studying the STS-40 imagery, the Red Sea in the foreground is clear of river sediment because of the prevailing dry climate of the Middle East. The great rift of the Gulf of Aqaba extends northward to Turkey (top right) through the Dead Sea. The international boundary between Israel and Egypt, reflecting different rural landscapes, stands out clearly. The Nile River runs through the frame. NASA photo experts believe the haze over the Mediterranean to be windborne dust. The photo was taken with an AeroLinhof large format camera. Copyright: Credit:NASA

Title:[0394] River Rhône, Switzerland Caption:River Rhône, Switzerland Copyright: Credit:NASA

Title:[1454] Ross Ice Shelf, Antarctic Caption:Antarctic ice and clouds. The Ross Ice Shelf is almost totally clear, showing stress marks in the ice formation caused by wind and tidal drift. Clouds on the eastern edge of the picture are associated with an Antarctic cyclone. Winds caused by such storms have been known to reach hurricane force. (20:58:47 GMT, Sept. 13, 1991; the Shuttle was positioned over a point on earth located at 56.7 degrees south latitude and 150.5 degrees west longitude.) Copyright: Credit:NASA

Title:[0401] Russian sea ice Caption:Russian sea ice Copyright: Credit:NASA

Title:[1446] Sahara Desert Caption:This 70mm view from the Atlantis shows soil- and lava-covered landscapes in the Sahara Desert (Northern Darfur Province, Sudan, Northeast Africa). Geologists are interested in this view because of the extremely remote and unpopulated region of Northwest Sudan which shows two different types of landscape. The darker surfaces (top and left) are the high parts of the landscape in the frame (altitude ~ 2,000 ft.). They appear to be layers of black lava, although no volcanic vents can be identified in the scene. The cloud puffs associated with the two larger areas may be generated by preferential heating of the air above these darker surfaces. No vegetation can be discerned whatsoever - even in steambeds - in this very arid region. The rest of the frame is occupied by the remnants of an ancient, exceedingly thick soil, typical of the tropics. According to NASA scientists studying the STS-46 photography, the top of this soil now acts as a low, reddish-gray tableland, the steep sides of which can be seen as the highly contorted pattern down the center of the frame. The darker red surrounding surfaces are underlying mid-level layers of the soil that have been exposed by erosional removal of the top layers. The light yellow-gray surfaces (bottom right) are the lowest layers of this soil as well as the lowest parts of the landscape in the frame, exposed by an even deeper erosion and stripping of the higher levels. Thus, the sequence of colors from the center of the frame to the bottom right mirrors the vertical layering of this ancient soil, a soil which appears to be a deep tropical soil, probably formed in the remote geological past when Saharan climates were more moist, with a savanna or forest vegetation growing on this thick soil. Copyright: Credit:NASA

Title:[1437] San Francisco Caption:A 70mm infrared frame of the city of San Francisco, taken on a clear day. The gray areas represent urban regions and the red areas are vegetated. Within the city of San Francisco, places such as Golden Gate park and the Presidio at the base of the Golden Gate Bridge easily stand out from the well-developed parts of the city. Major thoroughfares and bridges (Golden Gate and Bay Bridges) are shown, as are landmarks such as Candlestick Park and Alcatraz. The trace of the San Andreas fault show as a straight valley running northerly along the San Francisco peninsula. Good detail is visible in the turbid waters of San Francisco Bay. Copyright: Credit:NASA

Title:[1521] San Francisco Bay Caption:An oblique view of San Francisco Bay, California area, as photographed from the Skylab space station in Earth orbit. The cities around the bay include San Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley, and San Jose. A part of the San Joaquin valley extends into the southeast corner of the picture. The Santa Cruz Mountains are in the foreground south of San Francisco. Clouds cover most of the Pacific Ocean. This photograph was taken by one of the six lenses of the Itak-furnished S190-A Multispectral Photographic Facility Experiment (a component of the Earth Re-Experiments Package), using a six inch lens and SO-356 medium-speed Ektachrome film. Copyright: Credit:NASA

Title:[1418] Saudi Arabia Caption:In the northeast end of the Saudi Arabian desert called the Rub-Al-Khali (Empty Quarter), is the great sand dune field known as the Ash Shaiba. The dunes reach great heights and are held at maximum angle of repose by winds. Any disturbance of the base can cause a great cascade of sand which can bury one like a tidal wave. The dunes are of a classic style called "Barcans." Copyright: Credit:NASA

Title:[0402] Severe flooding, Philippines Caption:Severe flooding, Philippines Copyright: Credit:NASA

Title:[0397] Shark Bay, W. Australia Caption:Shark Bay, W. Australia Copyright: Credit:NASA

Title:[1451] Sierra Madre Oriental northern Mexico Caption:This 70mm photograph of the Sierra Madre Oriental was taken from the Earth-orbiting Space Shuttle Atlantis. Mountains of folded and faulted limestone of the range, located in southern Coahuila, Mexico, are bonded by nearly flat valleys. The town of Parras, 75 miles east of Torreon, can be seen near center right. This part of Mexico has extensive vineyards, orchards, and both dry and irrigated farmland. Evidence of a recent flash flood is marked by light brown sediment that streamed down gullies in the mountain ranges and formed ponds over agricultural areas in the broad valley. Based on the photograph, it appears to NASA scientists that damage to manmade structures occurred throughout more than 300 square miles in one valley alone. The ephemeral Laguna de Mayran contained light greenish-brown water at the time of this photo. Copyright: Credit:NASA

Title:[1410] Simpson desert, southern Australia Caption:Linear dunes and playas in the Simpson Desert, southern Australia. This 70mm image suggesting abstract shapes is comprised of numerous subparallel, very long, orange-colored linear dunes and patchy gray dry lakes. The dunes are aligned north-south in the great central basin of Australia, just north of Lake Eyre, the largest dry lake bed in the area. NASA scientists studying the STS-44 photography say that the regularity of the pattern is created by winds blowing from the south. As the linear dunes advance, they go on to form jagged edges on the south side of each dry lake. The north, or downwind side, is eroded to a smooth condition by the wind and lake waves on the few occasions when these lakes fill with water. Lake Peera Peera Poolanna is the largest lake in the picture. Sandy sediment, from several major rivers that never reach the ocean, is redistributed by the wind as sand dunes and covers large lake areas of this arid continent . One of these rivers, the Kallakoopah Creek, can be seen at the bottom of this view. The human population in this area is extremely low; sheep and fly populations are larger. Copyright: Credit:NASA

Title:[0400] Smoke from burning oil wells, Kuwait Caption:Smoke from burning oil wells, Kuwait Copyright: Credit:NASA

Title:[0399] Smoke obscuring Amazon Basin Caption:Smoke obscuring Amazon Basin Copyright: Credit:NASA

Title:[1458] Socorro islands, eastern Pacific Caption:This photograph, taken from the Earth-orbiting Space Shuttle Endeavor, shows Socorro Island wakes. Centered coordinates of the pictured area are 17 degrees north latitude and 111.3 degrees west longitude. Island wakes are common events in the eastern Pacific Ocean. The cloud swirls, called Von Karman vortices, occur when surface winds flow around islands and the surface airmass is capped by an inversion. Here, the eddy pattern is not visible until the moisture field is deep enough to form stratocumulus clouds downwind from the island. Copyright: Credit:NASA

Title:[1453] Southern Argentina and Patagonia Caption:Viedma and Argentina lakes, Patagonia, Argentina lying in what is considered to be one of the most dramatic landscapes in the Americas. The lakes of southern Argentina occupy the foothills of the Andes (right, under cloud cover). The Andes range, forming the border between Argentina and Chile, is locally known as Cordillera Darwin. The range is covered here by a permanent ice cap (parts of Los Glacieres National Park), which gives rise to glaciers. One of the glaciers periodically grows onto Lake Argentina (top) cutting off an arm of the lake. Water in this arm backs up behind the glacier, finally resulting in a thunderous burst as the ice gives way, spilling water and icebergs into the main part of the lake. It is said that the noise of the burst is so great that it can be heard in the town of Calafate 25 miles away. Copyright: Credit:NASA

Title:[0703] Southern California, Baja, from Apollo 16 Caption:Southern California, Baja, from Apollo 16 Copyright: Credit:National Optical Astronomy Observatories

Title:[0701] Southern California, Salton Sea Caption:Southern California, Salton Sea Copyright: Credit:National Optical Astronomy Observatories

Title:[1443] Southern Florida and Bahama islands Caption:This oblique scene from the Earth-orbiting Space Shuttle Columbia shows South Florida, several of the Bahama islands and parts of the Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean Sea. The nine-day STS-40/Spacelab Life Sciences (SLS-1) mission started with launch from Kennedy Space Center, visible in the lower left. Cuba can be seen at top center. The picture was photographed with a handheld Rolleiflex camera, aimed through Columbia's aft flight deck windows. Copyright: Credit:NASA

Title:[1449] Southern Greenland Caption:This spectacular view facing north of the southern extremities of Greenland (60 degrees north) shows numerous indentations, many of which contain small settlements. These are fjords carved by glaciers of the last ice age. Even today, the ice in the center of Greenland is 10,000 feet thick and great rivers of ice continuously flow toward the sea, where they melt or break off as icebergs - some of which can be seen floating offshore (left foreground). Copyright: Credit:NASA

Title:[1533] Southern Sinai peninsula Caption:This excellent view of the southern half of Sinai was photographed by the crew members of the Earth-orbiting Space Shuttle Columbia during STS-4. The Red Sea splits at Ras (Cape) Muhammad into the Gulf of Suez (left) and Gulf of Aqaba (right). A portion of Saudi Arabia is at the upper left edge. Gebel Musa (Mount Sinai) is at the upper center. Astronauts Thomas K. Mattingly II and Henry W. Hartsfield, Jr., exposed a number of 70mm frames of the Earth while orbiting the planet for seven days Copyright: Credit:NASA

Title:[1457] Southern Washington state Caption:This low-oblique view, photographed from the Earth-orbiting Space Shuttle Endeavor, gives a north-looking perspective of the major volcanoes of the Cascades of southern Washington - Mt. Rainier at the top right, Mt. Adams at the bottom right, and Mt. St. Helens at the center left. Mt. St. Helens erupted on May 18, 1980, removing 1,300 feet of the 9,677-foot volcano. The eruption toppled trees with a searing, stone-filled 275 mile-per-hour wind over an area of more then 150 square miles. This area, now referred to as the "blast zone," can be easily spotted in this view. NASA scientists reviewing the STS-47 photos say that natural regrowth within the blast zone is progressing at a rapid rate, especially on the outer fringes and in the protected valleys. Many fir trees have grown to heights exceeding 20 feet in a little over 12 years. A large lava dome within the crater of the volcano has grown to a height of over 1,000 feet since the 1980 eruption. Steam (small white speck) can be seen rising from the dome in the center of the crater. Clear-cuts, a major concern in the Pacific Northwest, can be seen speckling the forest lands in the frame, especially between Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Adams. Copyright: Credit:NASA

Title:[1530] Spain-Morocco at the Strait of Gibraltar Caption:Spain-Morocco at the Strait of Gibraltar. The port of Cadiz and the Rots Naval Station are at the upper center coast. The great Andalusian city of Seville is at upper center edge. The towns of Tangiers, Tetouan, and Ceuta are on the African side of the strait. This 70mm is part of an oceanographic study being done with photography from the Space Shuttle. Copyright: Credit:NASA

Title:[1433] Strait of Gibraltar Caption:The Strait of Gibraltar, the only outlet for the Mediterranean Sea, was photographed with a large format handheld camera by the STS-39 crew members. Scientists cite evidence from Shuttle photography to argue that the Mediterranean sea dried up between 5 million and 20 million years ago. Sea levels, they say, dropped slightly, cutting off the Mediterranean (top right) from the Atlantic Ocean (bottom left). In southern Spain, the dark area near the coast is the delta of the Guadalquivir River with the city of Seville. The Sierra Nevada range still has some snow. A small field fire near the Spanish coast has generated a conspicuous smoke plume. The small spike of land on the north side of the strait is the Rock of Gibraltar, an outpost of the British empire. The larger spike of land on the north coast of Africa marks the border between Morocco (center foreground) and Algeria (right). The sharp line cutting across the Mediterranean (top right) marks the edge of a dust cloud blowing from Africa into Europe. Copyright: Credit:NASA

Title:[1427] Tambora Caldera, Sumbawa Island, Indonesia Caption:Tambora Caldera, Sumbawa Island, Indonesia, as photographed with a 70mm handheld Hasselblad camera. Tambora is a 6-km wide and a 650-meter deep Caldera formed in 1815 as a result of a huge volcan ic eruption. Gases from the eruption were ejected high into the earth's atmosphere and transported around the globe. The atmospher ic gases trapped part of the incoming sunlight, resulting in extremely cold weather. In New England, snow fell in June, and freezes occurred throughout the summer of 1816. This photo was shown by the STS-26 astronaut crew during its Oct. 11, 1988 post-flight press conference. Copyright: Credit:NASA

Title:[1426] Thunderstorm systems over the Pacific Ocean Caption:Thunderstorm systems over the Pacific Ocean, with heavy sunglint, as photographed with a handheld Rolleiflex camera aimed through Columbia's aft flight deck windows. Copyright: Credit:NASA

Title:[1413] Thunderstorms over Western Africa Caption:The overshooting tops from a series of strong thunderstorms are seen in this Linhof camera photograph over the Ivory Coast. The scene, viewed looking in the southern direction, was taken at sunset, resulting in long shadows cast by the storm tops. The shadows accentuate the shape and height of the clouds. The thunderstorm front is located along the land-sea breeze interface over the West African coastline and is in the normal position for the African Intertropical Front at this time of year. The scene was shown by the crew at its May 18, 1989 post-flight press conference. Copyright: Credit:NASA

Title:[0396] Tibet and the Himalayas Caption:Tibet and the Himalayas Copyright: Credit:NASA

Title:[1447] Tropical island off the north coast of Australia Caption:This near-vertical, cloud-free view shows the eastern half of an almost uninhabited tropical island off the northernmost coast of Australia. NASA scientists feel that the widespread fires probably were set to renew pasture under open-canopy woodland. This clear photograph, plus evidence of biomass burning, illustrates conditions throughout the Southern Hemisphere tropics during STS-46. The very dark lowlands represent mangrove woodland. By contrast with some other tropical regions (for example, Madagascar) no upland soil erosion is visible. Prominent mud plumes were derived from coastal erosion by waves and perhaps tidal-current scour, because streams inland from each estuary are clear. A large amount of coastal sediment is being carried offshore and spread widely by tidal-current action. Copyright: Credit:NASA

Title:[0406] Typhoon Yuri, 1991 Caption:Typhoon Yuri, 1991 Copyright: Credit:NASA

Title:[1456] Utah/Colorado border Caption:Desert and mountain scenery along the Utah/Colorado border are displayed in this Linhof camera scene. The Green River flows southward from top to bottom; the Colorado River flows southwest from the right center of the frame toward its junction with the Green just off the bottom of the frame. Moab, Utah, is on the Colorado, just northwest of the larger cloud. Canyonlands National Park occupies the region near the stream junction, with spectacular incised meanders and the bullseye structure of Upheaval Dome (a salt dome). Deep red rocks formed in deserts 200 million years ago contrast with the lighter marine sediments to the north, the forested heights of the Roan Plateau (upper right), and the volcanic La Sal Mountains (lower right). Copyright: Credit:NASA