These Von Karman vortices formed over the islands of Broutona, Chirpoy, and Brat Chirpoyev (“Chirpoy’s Brother”), all part of the Kuril Islands chain between Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula and Japan.

This image was acquired by the Landsat 7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper plus (ETM+) sensor on May 6, 2000. This is a false-color composite image made using infrared, near-infrared, and red wavelengths. The image has also been sharpened using the sensor’s panchromatic band.

Image provided by the USGS EROS Data Center Satellite Systems Branch