Return to Earth From Space Home
Earth from Space logo Image Information Earth from Space logo

Display a Screen Layout for Printing

IMAGE: gray corner       IMAGE: gray corner
  Image: Geographic Location Direction Photo #: ISS062-E-124061 Date: Apr. 2020
Geographic Region: USA-WEST VIRGINIA
Feature: CHARLESTON, KANAWHA RIVER, ELK RIVER

Ordering information for space photography
 
IMAGE: gray corner     IMAGE: gray corner

Image: gray corner     Image: gray corner
  View Low-Resolution Image  
  Charleston, West Virginia

Charleston, the capital city of West Virginia, is nestled in the Allegheny Mountains, one of the smaller ranges running through the Appalachians. The brown-hued, textured areas - not yet painted green by springtime—highlight the ruggedness of the surrounding terrain and allow local cities, roads, and mines to stand out in this photograph taken by an astronaut from the International Space Station (ISS).

Established in the 1700s, Charleston sits in a river valley at the confluence of the Kanawha and Elk rivers. The Kanawha River, named after the Kanawha Native American tribe, is a tributary of the Ohio River and is only about 160 kilometers (100 miles) long. Due to the region's undulating topography, much of the Allegheny Mountain Range was historically difficult to travel across as early European settlers headed west. Throughout Charleston's development and expansion, its riverside location made it a welcome resting spot for settlers along their route west, and many chose to stay in the region permanently.

Salt works, logging, and mining would become the city's leading economic industries. Brine has been pumped from wells in this area for its salt content for hundreds of years. Logging became prevalent due to the abundance and variety of trees in the mountains.

Underground coal mines, which date back to the early 1800s, are scattered throughout West Virginia. In the 1970s, coal operations started using a process known as mountaintop mining: the removal of rock and soil from mountaintops to reach coal seams. Since the process starts with the complete deforestation of an area, such surface mines can bring large-scale changes to the landscape and environment.



 
Image: gray corner     Image: gray corner

Images: All Available Images Low-Resolution 463k
Mission: ISS062  
Roll - Frame: E - 124061
Geographical Name: USA-WEST VIRGINIA  
Features: CHARLESTON, KANAWHA RIVER, ELK RIVER  
Center Lat x Lon: 38.4N x 81.8W
Film Exposure:   N=Normal exposure, U=Under exposed, O=Over exposed, F=out of Focus
Percentage of Cloud Cover-CLDP: 10
 
Camera: N8
 
Camera Tilt: 20   LO=Low Oblique, HO=High Oblique, NV=Near Vertical
Camera Focal Length: 290  
 
Nadir to Photo Center Direction: NW   The direction from the nadir to the center point, N=North, S=South, E=East, W=West
Stereo?:   Y=Yes there is an adjacent picture of the same area, N=No there isn't
Orbit Number:  
 
Date: 20200403   YYYYMMDD
Time: 184803   GMT HHMMSS
Nadir Lat: 37.5N  
Latitude of suborbital point of spacecraft
Nadir Lon: 80.8W  
Longitude of suborbital point of spacecraft
Sun Azimuth: 216   Clockwise angle in degrees from north to the sun measured at the nadir point
Space Craft Altitude: 223   nautical miles
Sun Elevation: 53   Angle in degrees between the horizon and the sun, measured at the nadir point
Land Views: MOUNTAIN, MOUNTAINS, RANGE, VALLEY  
Water Views: RIVER  
Atmosphere Views:  
Man Made Views: DEFORESTATION, MINING  
City Views: CHARLESTON  
Photo is not associated with any sequences


NASA Human
Space Flight
NASA
Home Page
JSC
Home Page
NASA
Image eXchange
JSC Digital
Image Collection
Earth Science &
Remote Sensing

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