The Curonian Spit in Lithuania and the Russian Federation was inscribed as
a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2000. Human habitation of this elongated
sand dune peninsula, 98 km long and 0.4-4 km wide, dates back to
prehistoric times. Throughout this period it has been threatened by the
natural forces of wind and waves. Its survival to the present day has been
made possible only as a result of ceaseless human efforts to combat
erosion through stabilization and reforestation projects.
The image covers an area of 55.8 x 109.5 km, was acquired on July 25,
2006, and is located near 55.3 degrees north latitude, 20.9 degrees east
longitude.
The U.S. science team is located at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory,
Pasadena, Calif. The Terra mission is part of NASA's Science Mission
Directorate.
