Where on Earth: Rio Grande

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

Story adapted from Image of the Day post by Kathryn Hansen: https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/88178/lower-canyons-of-the-rio-grande

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Collage of distinct satellite images of natural phenomena.

 

Text, where on earth? Satellite image, a river winds like a vein on a brown desert like terrain.

 

Text, This river marks the border between which two countries. A, China and Mongolia, B, Bolivia and Argentina, C, Saudi Arabia and Oman, D, Mexico and the United States.

 

D is highlighted, Mexico and the United States. Labels appear on map.

 

Text, The Rio Grand. The Rio Grande flows roughly 3,000 kilometers (1,900 miles), from Colorado southeast into the Gulf of Mexico. In 1978, Congress designated a 300 kilometer, 200 mile, stretch of the river along the Texas Mexico border as a National Wild and Scenic River.

 

This designation protects the river's ecosystem and its natural free flowing state.

 

The part of the river shown in this satellite image is known as the Lower Canyons.

 

In this area, the river has cut through layers of ancient rock to form steep walled canyons as deep as 450 meters, 1/4 mile, below the surrounding plateau. Image, a deep canyon.

 

The map recedes until we have the whole Earth before us.

 

Text, where on earth?