Data from a portion of the imagery acquired by the Multi-angle Imaging
SpectroRadiometer's vertical-viewing (nadir) camera during 2000-2002 were
combined to create this cloud-free natural-color mosaic of southwestern
Europe and northwestern Morocco and Algeria. The image extends from 48°N,
16°W in the northwest to 32°N, 8°E in the southeast. It is displayed in
Albers conic equal-area projection (a projection which is frequently used
for equal-area maps of regions that are predominantly east-west in
extent).
From the northeast, the image traverses a portion of the Swiss Alps
(partially snow-covered) and a small part of Italy's Po Valley. The
northern portion of the image also includes the western coast of France
and much of southern and southwestern France's undulating terrain, which
continues until reaching the hills of the Pyrenees. The Pyrenees act as
the natural frontier to the Iberian Peninsula -- a landmass comprised of
Spain and Portugal. The Peninsular landscapes are extremely varied, with
some almost desert-like, others green and fertile. About half of Spain is
situated atop a high plain, known as the Central Plateau, and many
mountain ranges, rivers, geological basement rock and vegetation types
are found across this great plateau. The largest alluvial plain is
Andalusia in the south, where the valley of the Guadalquivir River is
shut in by mountain ranges on every side except the southwest, where the
valley descends to the Atlantic. The islands of Mallorca, Menorca and
Ibiza are Spanish territories in the western Mediterranean. At the Strait
of Gibralter, Spain and Morocco very nearly kiss, and Morocco appears
relatively verdant along its northern coastal corner. The rugged Atlas
Mountain ranges traverse northern Algeria and Morocco.
The Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer observes the daylit Earth
continuously from pole to pole, and every 9 days views the entire globe
between 82 degrees north and 82 degrees south latitude. This data product
was generated from a portion of the imagery acquired during 2000-2002.
MISR was built and is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory,
Pasadena, CA, for NASA's Office of Earth Science, Washington, DC. The
Terra satellite is managed by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center,
Greenbelt, MD. JPL is a division of the California Institute of
Technology.