The Dasht-e Kavir, also known as the Great Salt Desert, is the 24th largest desert on Earth, located in the heart of the Iranian plateau. When viewed from the ground, its desolate sand dunes and surrounding mountain range appear imposing and beautiful. However, a different perspective is gained when looking down from above. In 2000, the Landsat 7 satellite, operated by the US Geological Survey, captured a breathtaking image of the Dasht-e Kavir from space.
Credit: NASA/USGS Landsat 7; NASA Earth Observatory
The Landsat 7 satellite is not the only spacecraft capturing stunning images of our planet from space. Other satellites and crew members aboard the International Space Station have also documented Earth, capturing images from various locations around the globe.
Unlike other blackwater rivers, the Suwannee maintains its inky color along its entire 400-kilometer (250-mile) journey to the sea. When the river finally meets the Gulf of Mexico along Florida’s Big Bend—that portion of coast where the state’s panhandle curves to meet its peninsula—its dark waters act like a tracer, revealing where the river water mixes with the sea.
That mixing was on display on February 20, 2015, when the Operational Land Imager on NASA’s Landsat 8 satellite captured this view.
Credit: NASA Earth Observatory image by Dr. Alice Alonso, using Landsat satellite data from the U.S. Geological Survey. Caption adapted from Laura Rocchio, NASA Landsat Science Outreach.
