NASA MODIS Image of the Day: January 10, 2012 – Andaman Islands
On January 9, 2012, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASA’s Terra satellite passed over the Bay of Bengal and acquired this true-color image of the Andaman Islands.
Lying in the Bay of Bengal, the Andaman Islands consist of 204 islands of varying sizes, many of which are quite remote and relatively unexplored.
The islands remain mostly forested, with mangrove stands found along the coast and evergreen and deciduous trees growing inland. The islands are rich in biodiversity, providing a home to many species, including five mammal species that are strictly endemic to the ecoregion, and which are listed as threatened, as well as several endemic species of birds and lizards. Five protected regions overlap the Andaman ecoregion, with one, Narcondum Island, created for the protection of the islands’ endemic hornbill (a bird). The others primarily protect marine species. The Andamans are geologically part of a long island arch which runs from Arkan Yoma in Myanmar (Burma) to the Mentawai Islands off Sumatra. This archipelago also includes the Nicobar Islands Rain Forests and many underwater sea mounts. In this image, the longest island is divided into three named sections: North Andaman, which lies 285 kilometers south of Myanmar, Middle Andaman and Lower Andaman. Port Blair, the largest city on the islands and the administrative center can be seen as a gray splotch on the south-eastern side of Lower Andaman. The largest circular island to the south is Little Andaman.
