Snow across Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan

  • Credit

    Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA/GSFC

The deep sapphire blue waters of Ysyk Kötand out clearly against the white, snow-covered mountains of eastern Kyrgyzstan in this image. Ysyk Kös one of the world’s largest mountain lakes, covering 6,220 square kilometers. The waters are a dark blue largely because of the lake’s depth—up to 702 meters in places. The lake is fed by mountain streams from the Tian Shan in the south and the Kyrgyz Range in the north.

The top half of the image shows southeastern Kazakhstan. The country’s largest lake, Balqash Köcurves across the top center of the image. Unlike Ysyk KöBlaqash Köis frozen. The smooth white of the lake’s icy surface blends with the snowy white of the surrounding landscape.

China is the third country visible in this image. Northwestern China forms the lower right corner of the image. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this image on December 19, 2003.

Metadata

  • Sensor

    Aqua/MODIS

  • Visualization Date

    2004-01-19