STS040-072-023 Saint Louis, Missouri, U.S.A. June 1991
The Saint Louis metropolitan area, the Mississippi River, and the Missouri River are prominent in this near-vertical-looking photograph. The runways of Saint Louis Lambert International Airport are pictured near the center of the photograph, while agricultural field patterns surround the metropolitan area and are especially pronounced in the floodplains of the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers north of the city. This photograph was taken before the devastating floods that occurred in the spring and summer of 1993 (reference STS-058-088-060 taken after the floods). Major features perceptible in this photograph include numerous major highway systems and interchanges traversing the city; bridges crossing both the Mississippi River and the Missouri River; and oxbow-shaped Horseshoe Lake in Illinois, east of downtown Saint Louis. The Saint Louis area, a major commercial and industrial center, was famous in the 19th century as a major inland port and supply center. The city was considered the "Gateway to the West" for pioneers intent on settling lands west of the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers.
STS040-072-024 Monroe Lake and Bloomington, Indiana, U.S.A. June 1991
Within the woodlands of Hoosier National Forest, sediment-laden Monroe Lake (center of photograph), the largest lake in Indiana, is featured in this northwest-looking, low-oblique photograph. Near the lake are Bloomington, home of the University of Indiana, to the northwest and Bedford, noted for its limestone that is shipped worldwide, to the south (below left center). The floodplain of the East Fork White River (bottom left) is discernible southeast of the lake. The terrain of the region is hilly with forests, scattered agricultural areas, and abundant limestone.
STS040-072-043 P’ohang, South Korea June 1991
The seaport and industrial city of P’ohang is visible near the center of this near-vertical photograph. According to a 1980 census, P’ohang had a population of more than 200 000. Some of the city’s infrastructure can be observed—the airport southeast of downtown, wharves jutting into Yongil Bay, and the industrial area (iron and steel mills) south of the river that flows into Yongil Bay. The topography of the southeast coastal area—many severe, steep slopes and low mountains—prevails throughout much of South Korea. Approximately 20 percent of the total land area is usable for agriculture. The dark green areas are hills and mountains with elevations ranging from 2000 to 4000 feet (600 to 1200 meters). Numerous valleys cutting through the mountain areas help map the rather complex drainage pattern found throughout South Korea.
STS040-072-054 Akita Area, Honshu, Japan June 1991
The Oga Peninsula juts westward into the Sea of Japan along this part of the northwest coast of Honshu Island. Along the eastern neck of the peninsula, an intensive farming region known as Ogata-village can be identified (uniform color with a series of intersecting, light-colored lines). This site has been established as a model farm management project with a new style of agricultural society. The fertile soils of the Ogata-village region have been derived by reclaiming land from Lake Hachirogata, the oval, dark-feature that encircles the intensively cultivated project. Lake Hachirogata has a channel that connects the lake with the Sea of Japan. The coastal city of Akita is the concentrated, lighter-colored area south of the peninsula (Yoneshiro River). The western edge of the north-south aligned Ou Mountains (darker, heavily wooded landscape) dominates the bottom of the image.
STS040-073-054 Northwest Mexico and Southern California, U.S.A. June 1991
Rugged mountains along the spine of Baja California, the deep blue water of the Gulf of California (also known as the Sea of Cortez), and the deserts of northwestern Mexico and southern California highlight this photograph. This southerly view provides an excellent panorama extending from the Salton Sea in the Imperial Valley of southern California almost to the southern tip of Baja California. Human imprint on this landscape is primarily found along the rivers and their floodplains, where intensive irrigated agriculture exists. The Colorado River, with its cultivated field patterns (darker areas), can be seen to flow from the north toward the southwest and finally to empty into the broad delta at the center of the photograph and to enter the northern end of the Gulf of California. The international border between the United States and Mexico can be identified by the differences in land management, farming practices, and sizes of fields. The border is the east-west straight line approximately 35 miles (56 kilometers) south of the Salton Sea. The Altar Desert is the arid-looking area with no visible vegetation east of the mouth of the Colorado River.