ISS060-E-556

Browse image
Resolutions offered for this image:
720 x 480 pixels 5568 x 3712 pixels 640 x 427 pixels
Cloud masks available for this image:
Binary Heatmap

Spacecraft nadir point: 42.6° N, 94.4° W

Photo center point: 38.6° N, 90.2° W

Photo center point by machine learning: 38.63° N, 90.19° W

Nadir to Photo Center: Southeast

Spacecraft Altitude: 217 nautical miles (402km)
Click for a map
View an image on a map for this photo that has been georeferenced using machine learning.
Width Height Annotated Cropped Purpose Links
720 pixels 480 pixels Yes No NASA's Earth Observatory web site Download Image
5568 pixels 3712 pixels No No Download Image
640 pixels 427 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: The St. Louis Hub

An astronaut onboard the International Space Station took this photograph of the St. Louis metropolitan area. The photograph contrasts the agriculturally dominated regions of western Illinois and the more densely urbanized areas of eastern Missouri. St. Louis lies on the west bank of the Mississippi River, which also forms the border between the two states. At the time of this photo, some flooding was visible along the river.

Initially founded in the 1760s as a fur-trading outpost, St. Louis grew up to become a major port on the Mississippi River. Throughout the 1800s and 1900s, the evolution of transportation and infrastructure led to the suburbanization of the city.

Public transportation, railroads, and advanced road networks developed as the population increased, which allowed for the gradual migration of people from the city center into the outer reaches of the greater St. Louis area. The urban pattern in the image includes a series of small-scale grids that follow the lines of the major railways and highways in the region. The network of roadways radiates out from the urban core and connects smaller towns.