Earth from Space - Image Description

STS078-736-018 Colorado Springs Area, Colorado, USA June 1996
Even though the colors of this scene are subdued, some man-made features as well as two of the grander natural features are evident in this near-vertical image. Sections of Interstate Highway 25 that connects Colorado Springs (south central part of image) with Denver to the north are visible east of the rugged Front Range of the Rocky Mountains. U. S. Highway 24 (light feature extending northwest from Colorado Springs) runs through the Ute Pass fault valley, which separates Pike Peak (south) from the southern end of the Rampart Range (one of the Front Ranges). Pikes Peak, an ancient rock dating back about a billion years and made almost entirely of pink granite, is the massive, unforested geologic structure in the southwest quadrant of the image. The Rampart Range is the large, rugged, north-trending mountain block. Within Colorado Springs, the north-oriented runway and taxiway (straight, light-colored area) of Colorado Springs Municipal Airport are clearly visible immediately southeast of the city.

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