Earth from Space - Image Description

STS089-710-011 Rio De Janeiro State, Brazil January 1998
The large embayment (dark feature) towards the west side (lower right quadrant) of the image is Guanabara Bay. The large island along the western side of Guanabara Bay is Governor's Island. The extensive urban area (gray colored landscape) of the greater Rio de Janeiro metropolitan region can be seen on both sides of the bay. Eastward from Rio de Janeiro, a series of shallow lagoons or lakes are visible adjacent to the coastal beaches. The topography of eastern Brazil changes from deltas and floodplains along the coast to hilly lowlands and low mountains towards the interior. The darker terrain further inland (mostly obscured by clouds) is part of an extension of forested mountains.

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