Earth from Space - Image Description

STS091-701-074 Fires, Isthmus of Thuantepec, Mexico June 1998
Many of the extensive, land clearing fires and the resultant smoke on the forested slopes of the mountains in southern Mexico are seen in this southwest-looking view of the Isthumus of Tehuantepec. The two major features that help to identify the specific geographic area in this image are the dark, crescent-shaped feature with the irregular edges (Nezahualcayotl Reservoir--left center of image) and the dark Muerto Lagoon and the Gulf of Tehuantepec (upper right corner). The environmental impact of these fires at times reached as far north as the central plains of the United States. (Refer to STS91-713-024 for fires and smoke palls along the Bay of Campeche coast of Mexico).

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