NASA MODIS Image of the Day: April 20, 2011 – Italy, Mediterranean Sea and North Africa
The skies over the Mediterranean Sea were relatively clear on April 7, 2011 when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard the Terra satellite passed over the region and captured this true-color image.
The name “Mediterranean” means “middle Earth”, so the name of the Sea can be translated as “the sea in the center of the Earth”.
In ancient history, this waterway provided such an important route for travel, commerce and exchange of culture between many civilizations that it could be considered as the center of the world for many people, at least for a time. In the top of this image, the snow-covered peaks of the Alps provide a border between France (to the west) and Italy in the east. The green Italian Peninsula extends to the southeast, forming a bridge between the Mediterranean Sea and Adriatic Sea. At the tip of the “boot of Italy is Sicily, the largest Island of the Mediterranean Sea. The second largest island, Sardinia, is found in the center of the Sea. Both of these islands are autonomous regions of Italy. Just to the north of Sicily lies Corsica, an island region of France. In the southwest (lower left) corner of the image lies North Africa. The green tip of the continent belongs to Tunisia, which is the northernmost country of Africa. Algeria lies due west of Tunisia. The coast of both countries appears green with vegetation, but the color of the land abruptly fades to tan inland, just south of the coast. The dryness of the southern inland region is highlighted by numerous circular areas of white, which mark salt pans. Salt pans are dried lake beds, created as water evaporates from saline lakes over time.
