< ISS026-E-20126 >

Browse image
Resolutions offered for this image:
1000 x 1344 pixels 540 x 726 pixels 720 x 720 pixels 4288 x 2929 pixels 640 x 437 pixels
Cloud masks available for this image:
Binary Heatmap

Spacecraft nadir point: 24.2° N, 50.5° E

Photo center point: 25.8° N, 50.6° E

Photo center point by machine learning:

Nadir to Photo Center: North

Spacecraft Altitude: 188 nautical miles (348km)
Click for a map
Width Height Annotated Cropped Purpose Links
1000 pixels 1344 pixels No Yes Earth From Space collection Download Image
540 pixels 726 pixels Yes Yes Earth From Space collection Download Image
720 pixels 720 pixels Yes Yes NASA's Earth Observatory web site Download Image
4288 pixels 2929 pixels No No Download Image
640 pixels 437 pixels No No Download Image
Other options available:
Download Packaged File
Download a Google Earth KML for this Image
View photo footprint information
No GeoTIFF is available for this photo.
Image Caption: Durrat Al Bahrain, Persian Gulf

Note: This caption refers to the image versions labeled "NASA's Earth Observatory web site".

At the southern end of Bahrain Island, at the furthest point from the cities of the kingdom, a new complex of 14 artificial islands has risen out of the sea. Designed for residential living and tourism, and aimed at a cosmopolitan clientele, the Durrat Al Bahrain includes 21 square kilometers (8 square miles) of new surface area for more than 1,000 residences, luxury hotels, and shopping malls. The complex has been designed to include: The Islands (six "atolls" leading off five fish-shaped "petals"), The Crescent, Hotel Island, and Durrat Marina in the north.

The spectacular outline of this development, and other developments such as the Palm Jumeirah and World Islands in the Persian Gulf, are best appreciated from above. Views from jet liners at high altitude and from orbital platforms such as the International Space Station are the only ways to fully appreciate these sights.

This astronaut photograph shows that construction on the surface of the two southern atolls and petals has yet to begin. Artificial beaches have been created on the inner shorelines of the Crescent and petals, with smaller beaches on the inner ends of the atolls and Hotel Island. The angular outline of the golf course, where many more residences are planned, can be seen between The Crescent and the marina. What may be a second marina is being carved out at the south end of the complex (mirroring the one on the north), though no such marina appears in earlier published plans for Durrat Al Bahrain.