Earth from Space - Image Description

STS040-610-028 Northern Honshu, Japan June 1991
The physical landscapes of the northern end of Honshu Island are visible in this north-looking, synoptic view. The north-south coverage extends from the Sendai Plain (lighter-colored area, bottom right) along the southern coast to beyond the Tsuruga Strait, which separates northern Honshu from Hokkaido Island (top center). The limited amount of intermontane valleys and coastal plains are easy to identify as the lighter-colored areas in the image. The overwhelming, darker terrain shows the extensiveness of the forested mountains that dominate the scene. The image provides a vivid reminder that in Japan only about 20 percent of the land is suitable for human habitation or agriculture. The two white spots near the west coast of Honshu are dormant, snow-capped volcanic peaks- Mt. Chokai (north) at 7317 feet (2230 meters) above sea level and Mt. Gassan (more southerly) at 6496 feet (1980 meters) above sea level.

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