Earth from Space - Image Description

STS61A-34-0020 Finger Lakes, New York State, U.S.A. October 1985
Individual agricultural fields are observable in this photograph of the two longest Finger Lakes--Seneca Lake (west) and Cayuga Lake (east). The smaller lake east of Cayuga Lake is Owasco Lake; the city of Auburn, New York, is located along the northern shore of Owasco Lake. While this region is known for general agriculture, dairying is extensive because of the close proximity to the dense population of the Mohawk River-Hudson River lowland from Buffalo to New York City. Grapes are also grown along the Finger Lakes where slopes ensure adequate air movement, which protects against frost, and where proximity to large water surfaces provides some ensurance against low temperatures. (Refer to STS51B-033-0029 for a synoptic, regional view of the Finger 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.