Magnificent views of the region surrounding Salt Lake City, Utah are
captured in these winter and summer images from the Multi-angle Imaging
SpectroRadiometers vertical-viewing (nadir) camera. Salt Lake City,
situated near the southeastern shore of the Great Salt Lake, is host to
the 2002 Winter Olympic Games, which open Friday, February 8. Venues for
five of the scheduled events are at city (indoor) locations, and five in
mountain (outdoor) facilities. All ten can be found within the area
contained in these images. Some of the outdoor events take place at
Ogden, situated north of Salt Lake City and at Park City, located to the
east.
Salt Lake City is surrounded by mountains including the Wasatch Range to
the east, and the temperature difference between the Great Salt Lake and
the overlying atmosphere enhances the moisture content of winter storms.
These factors, in combination with natural cloud seeding by salt
crystals from the lake, are believed to result in greater snowfall in
neighboring areas compared to more distant locales.
In addition to the obvious difference in snow cover between the winter
and summer views, water color changes in parts of the Great Salt Lake
are apparent in these images. The distinctly different coloration
between the northern and southern arms of the Great Salt Lake is the
result of a rock-filled causeway built in 1953 to support a permanent
railroad. The causeway has resulted in decreased circulation between the
two arms and higher salinity on the northern side. The southern part of
the lake includes the large Antelope Island, and at full resolution a
bridge connecting it to the mainland can be discerned.
These images are natural color views acquired on February 8, 2001 and
June 16, 2001, respectively. Each
image represents an area of about 220 kilometers x 285 kilometers.
Image courtesy NASA/GSFC/LaRC/JPL, MISR Team.