Earth from Space - Image Description

STS073-745-055 Maui, Hawaii, U.S.A. October 1995
This low-oblique, westward-looking photograph of southeastern Maui features two volcanic nodes at either end of the island--Puukukui [5788 feet (1764 meters)], the major landform in western Maui, and Red Hill [10 012 feet (3052 meters)], near the center of the eastern part of the island. Infrared film (with reds representing vegetation) accentuates the drainage pattern on the slopes of these large volcanoes; e.g., the deep canyon that extends eastward from Red Hill to the ocean. Apparent is a rain shadow effect (less vegetation and less red) on the drier side of Maui. Large cultivated field patterns appear between the two volcanoes. The rapidly developing urban and tourist centers of Wailuku and Kahului are visible along the north coast of the island near the base of Puukukui. The smaller islands of Kahoolawe and Lanai, to the southwest and west, respectively, are also captured in this photograph.

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