Earth from Space - Image Description

STS081-717-073 Lake Bolsena, Lake Bracciano, Italy January 1997
The three, generally oval-shaped, dark features are lakes that have formed in collapsed craters (calderas) of volcanoes. From northwest to southeast these lakes are Lake Bolsena, Lake diVico (small lake), and Lake Bracciano. The lakes are located northwest of Rome, along the east coast of central Italy. Sizeable lava flows are visible radiating outward from each of the water-filled calderas. The two large lakes drain southwest into the Tyrrhenian Sea. A narrow valley, aligned northwest to southeast provides routing access for a railroad, a highway, and the Tiber River along the eastern base of the volcanic structures. The dark feature (narrow swath) near the top of the image appears to be some type of dense vegetation, perhaps forested land, that follows the higher elevations on the east side of the Tiber River Valley.

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