STS066-080-011 Sabah, Malaysia November 1994
The color infrared image (green vegetation is portrayed as shades of red) dramatically shows where development has and is occurring on this northeast peninsula of Sabah, the second largest state of Malaysia (located on the island of Borneo). The Sulu (northeast) and Celebes (east) Seas separate this peninsula from several of the Philippine islands that are located east of Borneo. The darker terrain (deeper reds bottom half of image) shows a mixture of relatively flat, swampy, densely vegetated landscape along the north coast of the peninsula; while low, rainforest – covered mountains are visible near the lower right corner of the image. The lighter shades of red indicate where agricultural plantations have replaced the rainforests. The widely scattered, grayish-looking areas show where the land has been recently cleared, either for agricultural purposes or mining activities.
STS066-082-011 Rostov-On-Don, Russia November 1994
The large city of Rostov-On-Don (over 1 million people) is located in southwest Russia approximately 30 miles (50 km) from the mouth of the Don River delta. Rostov (bottom center) is the industrial, scientific, and cultural center of the North Caucasus Region. The large feature (top center) is the eastern end of Taganrogskiy Bay, which is an inlet to the Sea of Azov. Several distributary channels of the Don River (westward draining) fan out to create a low-lying, swampy delta (lighter-shaded area, center of image), immediately west of Rostov. Several airport runways (linear, light-colored features) are visible in the Rostov area: one runway can be identified south of Rostov (lower left) and two runways are visible near the town of Taganrog which is located west of Rostov and along the north side of the bay (upper right). Large cultivated field patterns (angular-looking features) north and south of the Don River indicates an agricultural landscape. The reddish color that is associated with healthy, green vegetation is subdued on this late autumn color infrared image.
STS066-082-017 Tsimlyansk Reservoir, Russia November 1994
The Don River, located in southwest Russia, has been dammed creating the Tsimlyansk Reservoir (dark feature center of image). The Don River through a series of canals connects the Caspian Sea (through the Volga River) to the Black Sea. Two distinct outlets from the reservoir are visible as winding, dark features (lower right) at the western end of the reservoir. The southerly water feature is a canal and the paralleling meandering stream channel is the original Don River channel. Practically all of the land in this image is used for farming (large angular field patterns) except the large peninsula (upper left) where sandy soils are not conducive for agriculture. Due to the late autumn data acquisition timeframe of this image, healthy green field crops (vegetation) that are usually depicted in various shades of red on color infrared film are not discernible on this image. Recent snowfall obscures some cultivated fields (white areas, upper right corner).
STS066-085-018 Choiseul Island, Solomon Islands November 1994
Choiseul Island is one of several volcanic islands that make up the island nation of the Solomon Islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean. The axis of this double chain of islands is oriented northwest to southeast. As viewed in this color infrared image, (dense green rainforest are presented in shades of red), Choiseul Island is characterized by thickly forested mountains. A few roads (thin, light-colored lines) can be traced through parts of the dense jungle near the northwest end of the island. Several small islands and coral reefs (lighter-colored areas) are visible along the northwest tip of the island and along the northeast coast.
STS066-085-076 Ganges River, India November 1994
The eastward flowing Ganges River (upper left to bottom center) makes a dramatic but brief course change around the northern end of hills (center of image) that protrude northward. Two small Indian towns, Monghyr and Jamalpur, are located along the western edge of the hilly protrusion. The highly reflective (white-looking) surfaces within the broad floodplain of the Ganges River are sandbars. Note that some of the sandbars have green vegetation (represented by shades of red) growing on the sandy, alluvial soils. The reddish colors (green vegetation) of this color infrared image maps vegetation density differences throughout the scene. The hills, for example, (left center) with their deep reds shows a dense forest cover, while the lighter pinks map agricultural lands or areas of less dense vegetation. The color infrared film also helps to identify numerous scars on the landscape that are attributable to course changes in the Ganges River. The dark linear feature that skirts (runs vertically, top to bottom) the northern border of the Ganges floodplain is a railroad right of way that has been built on a levee. The meandering Ghugri River, a tributary of the Ganges, is visible near the right margin of the image.