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  Image: Geographic Location Direction Photo #: ISS040-E-75453 Date: Jul. 2014
Geographic Region: PERU
Feature: LAKE TITICACA, GLINT, WAVES, ISLETS, DESERT, MTS., SNOW, WETLANDS

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  Lake Titicaca, Peru and Bolivia

As the International Space Station flew over the Atacama Desert of coastal Peru, an astronaut looked to the north, and by using a short lens (80 mm focal length), captured the entire 190-km length of Lake Titicaca. The lake lies on the high Andes plateau and is divided between the territories of southern Peru and Bolivia. It is the highest major body of navigable water in the world (3,800 m, 12,500 feet in elevation) and the largest lake in South America. A green algal bloom appears at the south end of the lake (image right). The lake is one of the most popular tourist attractions in South America.



Many local rivers drain into the lake, including rivers draining glaciers (image top right). A semicircular river delta bulges into the lake (image center), and other rivers that enter the protected bays have made wetlands whose vegetation shows up dark green (especially image left and lower left). Strong westerly winds that constantly blow across the plateau ruffle the entire lake surface in a subtle pattern of waves and swells. Interestingly, these winds contribute significantly to the water budget of the lake. As with most large lakes there is a balance between inflows and outflows of water so that the water level remains roughly constant. Hydrologists now know that the Desaguadero River (image lower right) drains only ~10% of the inflows, with most of the water lost (~90%) as a result of evaporation caused by the persistent, strong winds.



In the more remote past, geologists have found evidence that the lake stretched hundreds of kilometers further to the south, measuring close to 600 km long during glacial periods--probably as a result of higher rainfall and lower temperatures.


 
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Images: All Available Images Low-Resolution 87k
Mission: ISS040  
Roll - Frame: E - 75453
Geographical Name: PERU  
Features: LAKE TITICACA, GLINT, WAVES, ISLETS, DESERT, MTS., SNOW, 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: N5
 
Camera Tilt: 23   LO=Low Oblique, HO=High Oblique, NV=Near Vertical
Camera Focal Length: 80  
 
Nadir to Photo Center Direction: NE   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: 20140723   YYYYMMDD
Time: 160815   GMT HHMMSS
Nadir Lat: 16.9S  
Latitude of suborbital point of spacecraft
Nadir Lon: 70.8W  
Longitude of suborbital point of spacecraft
Sun Azimuth: 16   Clockwise angle in degrees from north to the sun measured at the nadir point
Space Craft Altitude: 226   nautical miles
Sun Elevation: 52   Angle in degrees between the horizon and the sun, measured at the nadir point
Land Views: DESERT, PLATEAU  
Water Views: DELTA, LAKE, RIVER  
Atmosphere Views:  
Man Made Views:  
City Views:  
Photo is not associated with any sequences


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