Earth from Space - Image Description

Reno, Nevada Metropolitan Area at Night

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

Known as "the biggest little city in the world", the city of Reno is located in Truckee Meadows along the eastern foothills of the Sierra Nevada near the California border. It forms part of the Reno-Sparks metropolitan area--the largest such area in northern Nevada, and the second largest in the state after Las Vegas. Lake Tahoe, a major destination for skiing and other outdoor recreational activities, is located less than 50 kilometers to the southwest of the Reno-Sparks metro area.

The relatively isolated nature of the metropolitan area within the surrounding terrain is highlighted in this night time image taken from the International Space Station. The major industrial and commercial areas of both Reno and Sparks are brightly lit at image center. The major street grid is visible as orange linear features adjacent to the industrial/commercial areas. Residential areas appear dark in contrast. The Reno-Tahoe International Airport (image center) is visible as a dark, dagger-shaped region in the southeast quarter of the metropolitan area.

At the time this astronaut photograph was taken, the Moon was in a waning gibbous phase (98% of a full moon). Moonlight provided enough illumination of the ground surface such that the topography, accentuated by snow cover, surrounding the Reno-Sparks area is clearly visible (image upper left, lower left) following color enhancement.

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