ISS048-E-73279

Browse image
Resolutions offered for this image:
1000 x 666 pixels 540 x 359 pixels 4000 x 2667 pixels 720 x 480 pixels 4928 x 3280 pixels 640 x 426 pixels
Cloud masks available for this image:
Binary Heatmap

Spacecraft nadir point: 42.1° N, 102.3° W

Photo center point: 37.2° N, 111.0° W

Photo center point by machine learning:

Nadir to Photo Center: Southwest

Spacecraft Altitude: 216 nautical miles (400km)
Click for a map
Width Height Annotated Cropped Purpose Links
1000 pixels 666 pixels No No Earth From Space collection Download Image
540 pixels 359 pixels Yes No Earth From Space collection Download Image
4000 pixels 2667 pixels No No NASA's Earth Observatory web site Download Image
720 pixels 480 pixels Yes No NASA's Earth Observatory web site Download Image
4928 pixels 3280 pixels No No Download Image
640 pixels 426 pixels No No Download Image
Other options available:
Download Packaged File
Download a Google Earth KML for this Image
View photo footprint information
Download a GeoTIFF for this photo
Image Caption: Lake Powell and Grand Staircase-Escalante

This panorama, photographed by an astronaut aboard the International Space Station, shows nearly the full length of Lake Powell, the reservoir on the Colorado River in southern Utah and northern Arizona. At full capacity, the reservoir impounds 24,322,000 acre-feet of water, a vast amount that is used to generate and supply water to several western United States, while also aiding in flood control for the region. It is the second largest reservoir by maximum water capacity in the United States (behind Lake Mead).

Landscape elevation changes are hard to see from space, but astronauts learn to interpret high and low places by their color. Green forests indicate two high places in the image that are cooler and receive more rain than the dry, low country surrounding the lake. The isolated Navajo Mountain is a sacred mountain of the Native American Navajo tribe and rises to 3,154 meters (10,348 feet). The long, narrow Kaiparowits Plateau rises nearly 1200 meters (4,000 feet) from Lake Powell to an elevation of more than 2300 meters (7,550 feet). More than 80 kilometers (50 miles) long, the plateau gives a sense of horizontal scale.

The region draws nearly 2 million people every year, even though it is remote and has few roads. Most of the area in view is protected as part of the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area and the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument--the largest amount of protected land in a U.S. national monument.