Earth from Space - Image Description

STS062-154-039 Murray River Basin, South Australia, Australia March 1994
The photograph shows three distinct geographic regions that are part of southeast South Australia. From east to west (right to left) these regions are the Murray River Basin (eastern half of the image); the faulted and fractured Mt. Lofty Range; and part of the largest city in South Australia, Adelaide (barely discernible). Sometimes called Australia's Mississippi River, the lower extent of the Murray River is visible as it snakes its way across an agricultural landscape. The Murray River eventually flows into estuarine Lake Alexandrina (near bottom center). The square block of varying shades of brown represent large tracts of land indicative of an important agricultural region. The agriculture includes dairying, vegetable gardening, fruit crops, and wool production. The darker areas (lower left) towards the western side of the Mt. Lofty Range are forest. The very dark areas (upper left) appear to be large cultivated tracts of land, perhaps vineyards. This region has a Mediterranean climate and is noted for its superior wines.

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