Earth from Space - Image Description

STS073-741-060 The Potomac River, Maryland/Virginia, U.S.A. October 1995
Flanked by the state of Virginia to the west (top of image), and the state of Maryland to the east (bottom of image), the Potomac River can be seen in this northwest-looking low-oblique color-infrared view. The terrain in this region is gently rolling, with forest cover (deep red on the infrared view) and patches of cleared or pasture land (paler shades of red). The headwaters of the Potomac are near Cumberland, Maryland, and the stream flows generally southeast for 285 miles (459 km). The river has cut several gaps across the parallel ridges of the Appalachian Mountains. The river enters the scene near Great Falls (upper right), passes through the Washington, D.C., area, and enters the tidal estuary south of the city as it flows toward Chesapeake Bay.

This service is provided by the International Space Station program and the JSC Earth Science & Remote Sensing Unit, ARES Division, Exploration Integration Science Directorate.