The influence of topography on the growth of the city of San Diego is
seen clearly in this computer-generated perspective viewed from the
south. The Peninsular Ranges to the east of the city have channeled
development of the cities of La Mesa and El Cajon, which can be seen just above the center of the image. San
Diego itself clusters around the bay enclosed by Point Loma and Coronado
Island. In the mountains to the right, Lower Otay Lake and Sweetwater
Reservoir show up as dark patches.
This 3-D perspective view was generated using topographic data from
the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) and an enhanced color
Landsat 5 satellite image. Topographic expression is exaggerated two
times.
Landsat has been providing visible and infrared views of the Earth
since 1972. SRTM elevation data matches the 30-meter (98-foot)
resolution of most Landsat images and will substantially help in
analyzing the large and growing Landsat image archive.
Elevation data used in this image was acquired by the Shuttle Radar
Topography Mission (SRTM) aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour, launched
on Feb. 11, 2000. SRTM used the same radar instrument that comprised the
Spaceborne Imaging Radar-C/X-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SIR-C/X-SAR)
that flew twice on the Space Shuttle Endeavour in 1994. SRTM was
designed to collect 3-D measurements of the Earths surface. To collect
the 3-D data, engineers added a 60-meter (approximately 200-foot) mast,
installed additional C-band and X-band antennas, and improved tracking
and navigation devices.
Size: scale varies in this perspective image
Location: 32.6 deg.
North lat., 117.1 deg. West lon.
Orientation: looking north
Image Data: Landsat Bands 3, 2, 1 as red, green, blue, respectively
Original Data Resolution: SRTM 1 arcsecond (30 meters or 98 feet),
Thematic Mapper 1 arcsecond (30 meters or 98 feet)
Date Acquired:
February 2000 (SRTM)
Image Courtesy SRTM Team NASA/JPL/NIMA