STS094-723-83

Browse image
Resolutions offered for this image:
4066 x 4066 pixels 640 x 640 pixels 504 x 497 pixels
Cloud masks available for this image:

Spacecraft nadir point: 13.0° N, 85.7° W

Photo center point: 13.0° N, 87.5° W

Photo center point by machine learning:

Nadir to Photo Center: West

Spacecraft Altitude: 160 nautical miles (296km)
Click for a map
Width Height Annotated Cropped Purpose Links
4066 pixels 4066 pixels No No Earth From Space collection Download Image
640 pixels 640 pixels No No Earth From Space collection Download Image
504 pixels 497 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: STS094-723-083 Gulf of Fonseca, Nicaragua/Honduras July 1997
Three Central American countries--El Salvador (northwest), Honduras (east), and Nicaragua (south)--share the Gulf of Fonseca. Although the gulf is fairly large in size, measuring 70 miles (113 km) in northwest--southeast extent, its fragile ecosystem is being damaged at an alarming rate. The gulf's two major natural resources (mangrove forests and fisheries) are being depleted with serious consequences to the long-term effects of the marine environment, specifically the shrimp industry. Poorly marked international boundaries within the gulf have only exacerbated the economic problem. The angular patterns at the southeast end of the gulf are ponds used for the production of shrimp. The southeast end of the gulf also exhibits a large sediment plume in the water. The roughly oval-shaped feature near the north end of the Nicaraguan peninsula is the caldera of Cosiguina Volcano, a stratovolcano that last erupted in 1835. The summit of Cosiguina Volcano is 2818 feet (860 meters) above sea level and the caldera is approximately 1.2 miles (2 km) in diameter. The darker area that rings the caldera shows an area of dense, tropical vegetation.