ISS006-E-22132 Click the photo number to access all resolutions available and the database record.
More information and photographs of tropical islands is included in the Islands chapter of Oceanography from the Space Shuttle.
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| ISS006-E-22132 |
ISS006-E-22132 Click the photo number to access all resolutions available and the database record. |
| Society Islands, French Polynesia: In one frame International
Space Station astronauts were able to capture the evolution of
fringing reefs to atolls. As with the Hawaiian Islands, these
volcanic hot spot islands become progressively older to the
northwest. As these islands move away from their magma sources they
erode and subside. The two large islands, Raiatea and Tahaa, share a
single fringing reef. The next island to the northwest, Bora-Bora,
consists of a highly eroded volcanic remnant with fringing reef. The
last island, Tupai, signifies the destiny of these islands; the
fringing reef has become an atoll with the central island below sea
level. More information and photographs of tropical islands is included in the Islands chapter of Oceanography from the Space Shuttle. |
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This service is provided by the International Space Station program and the JSC Astromaterials Research & Exploration Science Directorate. Recommended Citation: Image Science and Analysis Laboratory, NASA-Johnson Space Center. "The Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth." . |
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