Earth from Space - Image Description

STS090-705-087 Los Angeles Basin, California, USA April 1998
The central part of the Los Angeles Basin, including downtown Los Angeles and the greater Los Angeles metropolitan region, can be identified by the gridded street pattern in this near vertical image. Several of the many interstate highways (lighter colored, linear features) that cross this densely populated landscape are visible. Notice that dark mountain features restrict the growth of the cities. The Santa Ana Mountains (darker feature eastern edge of the image), and the Puente Hills (linear, darker feature northwest of Santa Ana Mountains) stand out in contrast against the light-colored highly reflective urban surfaces (buildings, aquaducts, highways, etc.). The clustered light colored areas within the large urban complex shows concentrated business, industrial, and commercial sites. The extensive harbor facilities, including Terminal Island, are visible near the center of the image just east of the Palos Verde Peninsula, the large peninsula that juts into the Pacific Ocean.

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