NASA MODIS Image of the Day: December 27, 2009 – The South Island of New Zealand
NASA MODIS Image of the Day: December 27, 2009 - The South Island of New Zealand
This image, captured by the MODIS on the Aqua satellite on December 22, 2009, shows most of the South Island of New Zealand.
The Southern Alps, the range that divides the South Island, are covered with snow though it is summer in the southern hemisphere.
The South Island is home to numerous glacial lakes. Some of them stand out in bright blue due to the extremely fine, highly reflective sediment that glacial melt water carries into the lakes. The glaciers sit high atop the Southern Alps. Though the South Island is bigger than the North Island, it contains only one quarter of New Zealand’s population.
