NASA MODIS Image of the Day: May 9, 2007 – The Great Lakes

Images

Though the region was partially cloudy, the MODIS on the Terra satellite got a nice view of the Great Lakes which lie on the US/Canada border. This image, captured May 5, 2007, shows four of the five lakes, including, from left, Superior, Michigan, Huron, and Erie.

At the very top of the image is a round white patch – this is Lake Nipigon, which is still frozen over. Nipigon is a large lake (70 miles by 50 miles), and is the largest contained entirely within Ontario. The lake drains into the Nipigon river and ultimately the Nipigon Bay of Lake Superior. The lake has tall cliffs and unusual beaches made of green-black pyroxene sand.

Another interesting feature to note on this image, are the jet contrails over Lake Superior.