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  Image: Geographic Location Direction Photo #: ISS060-E-35401 Date: Aug. 2019
Geographic Region: USA-NEBRASKA
Feature: OMAHA, LINCOLN, PLATTE RIVER, MISSOURI RIVER

Ordering information for space photography
 
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  Agriculture Patterns in the Great Plains

A network of farms and ranches surrounds the cities and small towns near the Nebraska-Iowa border. An astronaut onboard the International Space Station (ISS) took this photograph highlighting Nebraska's two most populous cities: Omaha and Lincoln. The grid-like pattern that spreads across the encompassing flatlands is typical of the Great Plains region and of Nebraska in particular, where 91 percent of the total land area is covered by farms and ranches.

The rectangular grid is a result of the Public Land Survey System, which dates back to the early days of the United States. Land in the region was divided into townships and sections by north-south and east-west lines. Each section was one square mile, except where some geomorphic features (like rivers) interrupted the landscape.

One such interruption is the Platte River confluence with the Missouri River. This meeting point, just 10 miles (16 kilometers) south of Omaha, is part of the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail. The two rivers have played a vital role in the development of Omaha as an agricultural center in the Midwest.

Similar to farms in neighboring Kansas, the fields around Omaha are primarily irrigated by water from the High Plains Aquifer - also known as the Ogallala - with additional water withdrawn from other local aquifers. West of Omaha, the Ogallala interacts with the Platte River, which recharges the aquifer as part of the hydrologic cycle.

 
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Images: All Available Images Low-Resolution 681k
Mission: ISS060  
Roll - Frame: E - 35401
Geographical Name: USA-NEBRASKA  
Features: OMAHA, LINCOLN, PLATTE RIVER, MISSOURI RIVER  
Center Lat x Lon: 41.0N x 96W
Film Exposure:   N=Normal exposure, U=Under exposed, O=Over exposed, F=out of Focus
Percentage of Cloud Cover-CLDP: 50
 
Camera: N8
 
Camera Tilt: 45   LO=Low Oblique, HO=High Oblique, NV=Near Vertical
Camera Focal Length: 50  
 
Nadir to Photo Center Direction: E   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: 20190813   YYYYMMDD
Time: 170858   GMT HHMMSS
Nadir Lat: 41.2N  
Latitude of suborbital point of spacecraft
Nadir Lon: 99.7W  
Longitude of suborbital point of spacecraft
Sun Azimuth: 135   Clockwise angle in degrees from north to the sun measured at the nadir point
Space Craft Altitude: 222   nautical miles
Sun Elevation: 57   Angle in degrees between the horizon and the sun, measured at the nadir point
Land Views:  
Water Views: RIVER  
Atmosphere Views:  
Man Made Views: AGRICULTURE  
City Views: LINCOLN, OMAHA  
Photo is not associated with any sequences


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