The mountains forming the spine of the island of Grande Terre contain large reserves of nickel and chromium, and New Caledonia mines are one of the world?s greatest producers of nickel. The combination of natural resources provides unique opportunities for understanding the impact of heavy development. Open mining activity leads to sedimentation in streams and estuaries as well as high concentrations of transition metals (chromium and nickel)?all of which can affect the health of reefs and reef organisms.
 
This image shows details of New Caledonia?s main city, Noumea, which is built on a peninsula that juts into the lagoon on the southwest side of the island. The reefs here face localized problems from pollution and overfishing. The tourism industry is very important to the economy of Noumea, with extensive hotel development in the city and along the southeast coast of Grand Terre. The picture shows how urban development extends to the steep slopes of the coastal hills.

The snow covered Tien Shan, that lie along a generally east/west axis in central Asia, separate the Dzungarian Basin (north) and the Tarim Basin of western China (south). The mountains are the result of geologic folding and uplift. The crystalline and sedimentary rocks in this mountainous region have been subjected to intensive erosion and faulting. Although the climate of the region is arid to semiarid (steppe), melting snow from the Tien Shan provides sufficient moisture to promote agriculture on the extensive alluvial fans (dark striated areas) that stretch along the southern margin of the mountains. Beyond (south) these alluvium oasis lays the Takla Makan Desert (lower left). The blue triangular-looking feature (upper center) is Lake Issyk-Kul, which is located entirely within the borders of Kyrgyzstan. The mountain range immediately north of the lake is the border between Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. Western China is south of the Tian Shan.

Lake Natron (pink color results from the pigmented microorganisms on top of the salt crust), approximately 35 miles (56 kilometers) long and 15 miles (24 kilometers) wide, has its northern end on the Tanzania-Kenya border; the summit of the small volcano, 5130 feet (1560 meters) above sea level at the northern end of the lake, is in Kenya. The north-south-trending lines on either side of Lake Natron help to establish the width of the Rift Valley at this point as approximately 20 miles (32 kilometers). Although this part of Africa has a humid, equatorial classification, this area has a definite dry winter season and varying rainfall amounts averaging approximately 40 inches (100 centimeters) annually. Lake Natron and its flamingo population are very sensitive to rainfall amounts-both suffer during drought.

Dataset: c150e_26
Scene #:    1010         Capture Time: Thu Oct  7 17:32:26 GMT 1999
Latitude:    39.004970 Deg. N     Longitude:       76.879189 Deg. W
Altitude:     10882.55 ft.        Mode: Auto 3D
Heading:           271 Deg. TN    Ground Speed:        149.4 mph
Time to Closest Fix:   0.300 seconds

Aldabra Islands, Indian Ocean November 1991
The islands of Aldabra and Assumption, part of the Seychelles in the Indian Ocean northwest of Madagascar, appear in this near-vertical photograph. Larger Aldabra, an oval atoll more than 20 miles (32 kilometers) long, encloses a large lagoon. The islands cover 60 square miles (155 square kilometers) and are known for their distinct fauna, particularly the giant land tortoise.