Where on Earth: Hormuz Island

Produced by the Space Telescope Science Institute’s Office of Public Outreach in collaboration with the NASA Earth Observatory: https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/ 

NASA Earth Observatory image by Lauren Dauphin, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey
Image of the Day story by Adam Voiland: https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/147428/irans-rainbow-island
Adaptation to ViewSpace by Claire Blome, Margaret W. Carruthers, Holly Ryer, Joe Olmsted, and John Godfrey
Music from Music for Nonprofits

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A montage of satellite images. Title, Where on Earth?

 

From above, a satellite image of a brown and red rocky round island in blue-green water. Text, What on Earth is this island made of?

 

A, Table salt, B, Ruby sand, C, Bird droppings, D, Concrete rubble.

 

A, Table salt is highlighted.

 

The satellite image is labeled Strait of Hormuz with sand on the northern section, halite, in the middle, and volcanic rock on the southern part of the island. Text, Iran's Hormuz Island is a salt dome: a mound-shaped formation of halite, also called rock salt or table salt, that has buoyed upward through overlying rock.

 

Another image from the island has the title Hormuz Island, Iran. There are gray, brown, and red mountains with jagged peaks. Text, Embedded within the salt are limestone, clay, shale, and iron-rich volcanic rocks, some of which sport vivid shades of red, yellow, purple, and orange. Because of its colorful soils, sands, and layers of rock, Hormuz is often referred to as Iran's "Rainbow Island." Hormuz is a destination not only for geologists and tourists, but also for cooks who use the red soil to season bread, and artists who create colorful sand carpets.

 

A photo shows a large circular mosaic on the sand with a dark red inner circle and a yellow center with squares of other colors around it. Text, Sand from Hormuz has also been used in paints, cosmetics, ceramic tiles, and for the exteriors of buildings.

 

We zoom out from the Island of Hormuz farther and farther away to see the entire planet earth floating in space

 

Title, Where on Earth?