Earth from Space - Image Description

STS087-701-040 Nong Han Lake, Thailand November 1997
A section of the muddy-looking Mekong River (linear, light-colored feature) that runs laterally across the top of the image is the border between Thailand (west of the river) and Laos (land area east of the river). A band of low, forested mountains (dark landscape) with a few maximum elevations barely exceeding 2100 feet (640 meters) above sea level are visible (middle right) as they form a gradual curving structure that crosses the Mekong River into Laos. Several reservoirs (very dark, irregular-shaped features-various sizes), including Nong Han Lake (near center of image), are discernible in the vicinity of the mountainous terrain in the bottom half of the image. Rice is the dominant farm crop that is produced in this region of the Khorat Plateau in northeastern Thailand.

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