The image was taken from the International Space Station on August 11, 2011 and shows Owens Lake in the southern part of Owens Valley, CA. The mountain range at the bottom of the photo is the Sierra Nevada (Mt. Whitney is located out of frame to the lower left) and the range at the top is the Inyo Mountains. Owens River feeds the lake from the left. The image is oriented with north on the left side of the frame. This is a true color image, and the red areas are actually where halophilic (salt loving) bacteria (and water) are found. Most of the water sources for Owens Lake were diverted to Los Angeles in the early 20th Century (inspiration for the movie Chinatown), exposing the alkaline substrate and causing serious air pollution issues for the valley. The upper areas showing as regular polygons were created to manage the dust by wetting the dry surface or planting vegetation.
https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=52072
No comments:
Post a Comment