The city of Calcutta appears in this 24 by 34 km (15 by 21 mile) sub-scene,
acquired March 29, 2000. In 1690 the British East India Company founded
Calcutta as a trading post on the marshy east bank of the Hugli River.
Chosen for its easily defensible location and its access to the Bay of
Bengal, the site developed into an important trading port. In 1773
Calcutta was made the capital of British India. As merchants and workers
from all over the Indian subcontinent flocked to the city, British
interests prospered, and British colonizers built mansions and palaces on
land reclaimed from the marshes and swampland. In 1912, however, Calcutta
lost its position as the colonial capital to Delhi. The end of British
rule in India in 1947 cut off many of Calcutta's sources of trade and
brought a deluge of immigrants to the city. The Bangladesh war in 1971
exacerbated the influx of refugees. Today this vibrant city has a
population of over 5 million, and continues to sprawl to the north and
south from the central grid of its old European section. This image was
acquired on June 23, 2002, covers an area of 33 x 27 km, and is located at
22.6 degrees north latitude and 88.3 degrees east longitude.
The U.S. science team is located at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory,
Pasadena, Calif. The Terra mission is part of NASA's Science Mission
Directorate.
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