Earth from Space - Image Description

STS078-748-007 Al Jubayl (Jubail), Saudi Arabia June 1996
The water (dark area) of the Persian Gulf contrasts with the sandy, desert landscape of the northeast coast of Saudi Arabia. This newly created (development started in the 1980s) industrial center of Al Jabayl (also knows as Jubail), a city with modern infrastructure, is located in the middle of the image. The infrastructure includes modern residential areas, petrochemical plants, iron works, airport (southeast of the city), highways, railroad, and port facilities - plus the Royal Saudi Naval Base (located south of the industrial port facilities - see long piers and breakwater). The lighter colored, undeveloped areas scattered throughout the coastal region are dry lakebeds (salt flats). The thin dark line inland but parallel to the coast (upper right quadrant) is a combination highway and pipeline right of way.

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