NASA MODIS Image of the Day: March 20, 2012 – Fires and snow in the Caucasus Mountains
On March 19, 2012 the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this true-color image of the Caucasus Mountain region of Eurasia.
Near the center of the image snow covers the Caucasus Mountains, forming a white bridge between the Caspian Sea (east) and the Black Sea (west).
Black borderlines have been overlain on the image, and one can be seen running along the spine of the Caucasus Mountains. To the north of this border, much of Russia remains snow-free, but red “hotspots” mark numerous fires burning in the valleys and along rivers north of the mountains. A large cluster of smoky fires can be seen in the Republic of Dagestan, which lies north of the Great Caucasus Mountains near the Caspian Sea. The northern reaches of both the Black and Caspian Seas appear blue-gray, indicating they are covered by ice. This suggests that, although the land is relatively snow-free, that temperatures in the region remain very cold. South of the Caucasus Mountains lies Georgia (west) and Azerbaijan (east). Further south is Armenia. Turkey fills the lower west section of the image, while Iran lies in the lower east. In the lower center, Iraq is situated between Turkey and Iran.
