Earth from Space - Image Description

STS066-124-029 Elephant Butte Reservoir, New Mexico, U.S.A. November 1994
Elephant Butte Reservoir, the largest reservoir of the Rio Grande in New Mexico, is featured in this photograph. Part of the Rio Grande Rift, the reservoir lies west of the San Andres Mountains and the Tularosa Basin. The reservoir provides water for irrigation in the nearby Rio Grande Valley and electricity for the region. To the reservoir's east are the Pinos Mountains and a broad valley, Jornada del Muerto; south of the reservoir is Truth or Consequences; and further south is smaller, elongated Caballo Reservoir, east of which are the Caballo Mountains.

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