Earth from Space - Image Description

STS060-083-031 Monahans, Texas, U.S.A. February 1994
Monahans, immediately southwest of the largest highly reflective feature, is difficult to locate because it blends with the surrounding natural colors. The north-south-aligned swath of highly reflective surfaces is exposed sand dunes. Sand is constantly transported eastward across this gigantic sand dune field. The darker, slightly elevated landform (top of photograph) has been stabilized by more dense vegetation. The white, evenly spaced dots denote oil and gas fields that abound in this part of west Texas. Discernible are a short section of the Pecos River Valley (lower right corner) and part of Interstate Highway 20 (right side of photograph).

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