June 20, 2023 - Clear Skies over South America

Clear Skies
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On June 19, 2023, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer
(MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite acquired a true-color image of a
clear-sky view of a portion of South America. A portion of four
countries is captured in this image and a wide range of ecosystems,
from the Pacific Coast to the Amazon Rainforest.

In the southwest, marine stratocumulus clouds cover the Pacific Ocean
and creeps over the dry coastal plain of both Peru (north) and Chile
(south). Nearby, but at much higher elevation, Lake Titicaca is
visible. Sitting in the Andes Mountains at a surface elevation of 3,812
m (12,507 ft), Lake Titicaca borders both Peru (west) and Bolivia. A
small bank of cloud hugs the eastern slope of the Andes, which is a
much moister and greener ecosystem that the semi-arid land west of the
mountain peaks.

Moving to the east, a group of mud-colored lakes sit in the Bolivian
Yungas, a heavily-forested ecoregion in the lowlands of the Andes. The
largest tan-tinted lake is Lake Rogagua. It is one of the lakes known
as “lagos cuadrados” (square lakes) because of their shape. This group
of lakes, each only a few meters deep, are oriented in the same
direction with their long axes positioned northeast to southwest.

The highlands of the Amazon Rainforest are found to the north and the
northeast of the Bolivian Yungas. Brazil covers most of the northeast
section of the image, and is covered with a few clouds. Once covered
with dark green rainforest, both Bolivia and Brazil show the effects of
deforestation. Much of the light green seen in this area mark areas
where the rainforest has been cut or burned to make way for agriculture
or other use.

Image Facts
Satellite: Terra
Date Acquired: 6/19/2023
Resolutions: 1km (2 MB), 500m (4.6 MB),
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit: MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC



https://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/individual.php?db_date=2023-06-20

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