Earth from Space - Image Description

STS085-501-114 Mojave Desert, California, USA August 1997
Rogers Dry Lake and Rosamond Dry Lake (extensive, light colored feature) are located toward the center of the Mojave Desert near the western apex of the desert. Both dry lakes are part of Edwards Air Force Base that includes an alternate landing site for NASA's Space Shuttle. The Mojave River is the dark and light, gently curving linear feature at the top of the image. The dark-looking feature along the southwest side of the picture is part of the northeast flank of the San Gabriel Mountains. A section of the San Andreas fault (linear structure) can also be detected. A very small section of the Garlock fault (not as obvious as the San Andreas fault) can be traced across the landscape along the northwest side of the valley. This frame of photography overlaps with STS085-501-116.

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