Earth from Space - Image Description

STS068-254-044 Tsimlyansk Reservoir, Russia October 1994
The Tsimlyansk Reservoir is located on the Don River. It can be seen surrounded by numerous agricultural fields in this west-southwest-looking low oblique view. It is one of the largest reservoirs in Russia. It was completed in 1952 to provide power and irrigation to the region from Rostov to Volgograd. Crops grown in the region around the lake include wheat, rice, cotton, maize, alfalfa, fruit, grapes, and vegetables. The reservoir is part of a waterway for the shipping of raw materials from the upper Don and Volga Basins to the lower Don River Basin and visa-versa. The Tsimlyansk Dam also provides flood control for the lower Don River Basin. Industry has grown at a high rate in the region since the completion of the lake.

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