Return to Earth From Space Home
Earth from Space logo Image Information Earth from Space logo

Display a Screen Layout for Printing

IMAGE: gray corner       IMAGE: gray corner
  Image: Geographic Location Direction Photo #: ISS034-E-41528 Date: Feb. 2013
Geographic Region: ATLANTIC OCEAN I(S).
Feature: TRISTAN DA CUNHA ISLAND, VOLCANO, LAVA FLOWS, QUEEN MARY'S PEAK

Ordering information for space photography
 
IMAGE: gray corner     IMAGE: gray corner

Image: gray corner     Image: gray corner
  View Low-Resolution Image  
  Tristan da Cunha, South Atlantic Ocean

The island of Tristan da Cunha is located in the southern Atlantic Ocean; more than 3700 km from the northern coastline of Antarctica, approximately 2800 km to the southern tip of Africa, and more than 3000 km from the eastern coastline of South America. The island forms part of the British Overseas Territory of Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha. The shoreline of the 13 km-wide island is marked on most sides by steep cliffs, with lower beach areas on the southern and north-northwestern sides. The island is notable for its bird population, including important breeding grounds for a variety of petrels, albatrosses, penguins and shearwaters.

Tristan da Cunha is a shield volcano, a type of volcanic structure usually recognized by a low, broad profile and composed of silica-poor lavas (such as basalt). The upper surface of this low base appears dark green in this astronaut photograph. Steeper, brown to tan colored slopes mark the central cone of the volcano at the island's center. The summit crater, Queen Mary's Peak, sits at an elevation of 2060 meters above sea level. While geologic evidence indicates that eruptions have occurred from the central crater, lavas have also erupted from flank vents along the sides of the volcano as well as smaller cinder cones.

The last known eruption of Tristan da Cunha took place 1961-1962 and forced evacuation of the only settlement on the island, Edinburgh of the Seven Seas. The settlement is located along the northern coastline of the island (obscured by clouds in this image). This is considered to be the most remote permanent settlement on Earth, with its citizen's nearest neighbors located 2173 km to the northeast on the island of St. Helena.
 
Image: gray corner     Image: gray corner

Images: All Available Images Low-Resolution 224k
Mission: ISS034  
Roll - Frame: E - 41528
Geographical Name: ATLANTIC OCEAN I(S).  
Features: TRISTAN DA CUNHA ISLAND, VOLCANO, LAVA FLOWS, QUEEN MARY'S PEAK  
Center Lat x Lon: 37.1S x 12.3W
Film Exposure:   N=Normal exposure, U=Under exposed, O=Over exposed, F=out of Focus
Percentage of Cloud Cover-CLDP: 25
 
Camera: N5
 
Camera Tilt: 20   LO=Low Oblique, HO=High Oblique, NV=Near Vertical
Camera Focal Length: 400  
 
Nadir to Photo Center Direction: NW   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:  
 
Date: 20130206   YYYYMMDD
Time: 083959   GMT HHMMSS
Nadir Lat: 37.7S  
Latitude of suborbital point of spacecraft
Nadir Lon: 11.1W  
Longitude of suborbital point of spacecraft
Sun Azimuth: 87   Clockwise angle in degrees from north to the sun measured at the nadir point
Space Craft Altitude: 219   nautical miles
Sun Elevation: 29   Angle in degrees between the horizon and the sun, measured at the nadir point
Land Views: CRATER, ISLAND, VOLCANO  
Water Views: OCEAN  
Atmosphere Views:  
Man Made Views:  
City Views: EDINBURGH  
Photo is not associated with any sequences


NASA
Home Page
JSC
Home Page
JSC Digital
Image Collection
Earth Science &
Remote Sensing

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