Earth from Space - Image Description

STS085-710-16 Reno, Nevada August, 1997
Situated midway between the center and upper center of the image, the cities of Reno and Sparks, Nevada are visible in this near-vertical view. Located on the Truckee River near the Sierra Nevada, Reno is the second largest city in the state. It produces lumber, cement, electronic components, and is a trade and distribution center for livestock and grain. Reno is an important tourist center in the middle of a vast recreation area, including numerous gambling casinos. The site on which Reno is now located was a popular campsite on the Donner Pass route, across the Sierra Nevada (upper right of the image) to California. The city of Sparks is located just to the east of Reno. Near the center of the image and to the north of Reno are salt-pans and playa-type dry lakes.

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