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  Image: Geographic Location Direction Photo #: ISS008-E-5652 Date: Nov. 2003
Geographic Region: PERU
Feature: LAKE TITICACA, ISLANDS, WETLANDS

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  View Low-Resolution Image  
  Lake Titicaca:
Lake Titicaca, at an elevation of 12,507 feet (3,812 meters) in the Andean Altiplano, is the highest large lake in the world. More than 120 miles long and 50 miles wide, it was the center of the Incan civilization, and today straddles the boundary between Peru and Bolivia.

Perhaps more importantly, Lake Titicaca contains one of South America's longest climate records, extending back more than 25,000 years. Scientists have studied indicators of the water level changes over time in Lake Titicaca to tease out information about precipitation shifts in the high Andes and the South American tropics. Because the lake occupies the low point of the Altiplano, much of the water of the high plateau eventually trickles into the lake. And because it is surrounded by mountains, very little of Lake Titicaca's water drains out--the Rio Desguadero is the only major outflow river. So, like a bathtub with no drain, this large and deep lake (with depths of several hundred feet) has become the collecting basin for more than 25,000 years of sediment. These sediments and their fossils contain clues about past climate conditions.

The restricted outflow of the lake creates conditions where even shorter, interannual climate cycles (like El Nino/Southern Oscillation) impact Lake Titicaca's water levels. Recent lake level variations have been several meters, with low levels occurring during regional droughts of El Ninos. Right now, the region is relatively wet. In this image, the dark greens of the wetlands along the shallower margins of the lake contrast strongly with the surrounding desert, while large cities like Puno, Peru (100,000 people), are difficult to discern from the surrounding countryside.
 
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Images: All Available Images Low-Resolution 43k
Mission: ISS008  
Roll - Frame: E - 5652
Geographical Name: PERU  
Features: LAKE TITICACA, ISLANDS, WETLANDS  
Center Lat x Lon: 16S x 69.5W
Film Exposure:   N=Normal exposure, U=Under exposed, O=Over exposed, F=out of Focus
Percentage of Cloud Cover-CLDP: 10
 
Camera: E4
 
Camera Tilt: HO   LO=Low Oblique, HO=High Oblique, NV=Near Vertical
Camera Focal Length: 80  
 
Nadir to Photo Center Direction: SE   The direction from the nadir to the center point, N=North, S=South, E=East, W=West
Stereo?:   Y=Yes there is an adjacent picture of the same area, N=No there isn't
Orbit Number: 357  
 
Date: 20031108   YYYYMMDD
Time: 145812   GMT HHMMSS
Nadir Lat: 1.5S  
Latitude of suborbital point of spacecraft
Nadir Lon: 78.8W  
Longitude of suborbital point of spacecraft
Sun Azimuth: 119   Clockwise angle in degrees from north to the sun measured at the nadir point
Space Craft Altitude: 203   nautical miles
Sun Elevation: 57   Angle in degrees between the horizon and the sun, measured at the nadir point
Land Views: BASIN, DESERT, PLATEAU  
Water Views: LAKE, RIVER, SEDIMENT  
Atmosphere Views:  
Man Made Views:  
City Views:  
Photo is not associated with any sequences


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