August 21, 2021 - Qeshm Island, Iran
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Qeshm
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The arrow-shaped Qeshm Island claims fame as Iran’s largest island as
well as the largest island in the Persian Gulf. Roughly 84 miles (135
km) long, the island sits close to the Iranian mainland in the Strait
of Hormuz—the narrow passageway where waters of the Persian Gulf (west)
mingle with those of the Indian Ocean. A narrow strait filled with
turquoise-green waters separates arid Qeshm Island from the
equally-arid mainland. The colorful tint likely comes from sediment
suspended from tidal motion and waves in the shallows off-shore.
The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board
NASA’s Aqua satellite acquired a true-color image of Qeshm Island on
August 14, 2021. While most of the island is tinted with a variety of
tans that illustrate the dryness of the rocky terrain, some locations
on the northern coast are tinted with green that marks vegetated
mudflats that thrive with biodiversity.
The largest green area that stretches between Qeshm Island and the
mainland is the Hara Biosphere Reserve. While the central area of the
reserve is considered a marine zone, there are wetlands with a series
of small islands, mangrove forests, tidal marshes, and shallow covers.
The largest Avicenna mangrove ecosystem of the Persian Gulf Shoreline
is found in this reserve. Rich in biodiversity, the Hara Biosphere
Reserve provides a home for the critically endangered Hawksbill sea
turtle.
Image Facts
Satellite: Aqua
Date Acquired: 8/14/2021
Resolutions: 1km (79.6 KB), 500m (204.4 KB), 250m (531.6
KB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit: MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
https://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/individual.php?db_date=2021-08-21
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