Our beautiful Earth, the only home we have, provides us with food, air, water and land. Nature is an integral part of our wellbeing. We need to embrace the environment and nurture it as our own self.
Faults – When landmasses collide, rock layers can break. Geologists call these breaks “faults.” Rock layers are offset in this image in western China, making the faults remarkably clear. The different colors indicate rocks that formed at different times and in different environments.
Capillaries – Marking part of the boundary between Colombia and Venezuela, the Meta River resembles an artery among capillaries within the human body. Those capillary-like features actually depict dense tree cover along the numerous streams that flow among rich tropical grassland.
Land Of Terror – No Water. No vegetation. No oases. Known as the “Land of Terror,” the Tanezrouft Basin in Algeria is one of the most desolate parts of the Sahara Desert. Sand dunes, which appear in yellow, streak down the left side of the image, and sandstone formations carved by relentless wind erosion make concentric loops, much like the grain seen in a piece of wood.
Nature’s Patterns – The biologically complex conditions of mangroves are shown in dark green along the fingers of the Ord River in Australia. Yellow, orange, and blue represent the impressive flow patterns of sediment and nutrients in this tropical estuary. The bright spot at the lower left is an area of mudflats, which is home to saltwater crocodiles.
Folded Earth – The main feature here is the folding of the Earth into layers in Margaret, Alabama. The folded pattern looks like streaks of watercolor on canvas.
Valley Farms – The main features here are the fault lines that crack up the Earth’s surface in Hamilton County, Tennessee. It is hard to hide the raw beauty of the Earth.
Shoal Complex – The main feature here, near Eleuthera Island in the Bahamas, is the Schooner Cays shoal complex. The tidal sand ridges, parabolic bars, and intervening channels explode in a blue rhythm. The Bahamas have the third most extensive coral reef in the world.
