October 6, 2021 - Baja California Peninsula

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Central Baja California’s stunning landscape, colored in creams, tans,
and deep greens, stood out in stark relief against the inky-black
waters of the Pacific Ocean (west) and Gulf of California (east) when
the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard the
Terra satellite acquired this true-color image on October 4, 2021.

Most of the land and some of the water visible in this image has been
declared both a World Heritage site and a Biosphere Reserve by the
United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization
(UNESCO). Sites on the World Heritage List are cultural, natural, or
mixed properties recognized by the World Heritage Committee as being of
outstanding universal value. Biosphere Reserves are areas of
terrestrial and coastal ecosystems which are internationally recognized
within the framework of UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Program.

El Vizcaíno Biosphere Reserve contains three subdivisions of the
Sonoran Desert. The type known as the Vizcaino Desert covers about 95
percent of the land of the reserve, while the Gulf Coast subdivision
occupies a narrow strip along the easter borders of the Sierras to the
east of the Reserve. The third region, known as the Magdalena Region,
covers a scant one percent of the Reserve, including a large lagoon
complex, yet it is extremely biodiverse. The lagoon provides a winter
home for many marine mammals, such as the Gray Whale which visits the
area annually to mate and to calve. It also is a refuge for 125 species
of migratory birds while supporting 64 species of mammals, including
Mexicana Bighorn Sheep, Mule Deer, Puma and coyote.

This region provides a home to humans as well as to wildlife and
plants. Large white areas around Lago Ojo de Liebre are salt-rich
crusts that have formed as saline lagoon waters evaporate. Given the
natural wealth of the substance, salt mining is a major industry in
this region. Other human activities include fishing and aquaculture,
ecotourism, animal husbandry, agriculture, and sustainable use of the
wildlife. According to UNESCO, climate changes and overexploitation has
resulted in diminishing fishing resources. Should fishing collapse, it
would have a profound impact on the people in the region, both socially
and economically. Aquaculture may provide an alternative to fishing
traditions. Tourism —especially ecotourism such as whale watching—has
been an increasing economic activity.

Image Facts
Satellite: Aqua
Date Acquired: 10/4/2021
Resolutions: 1km (581 KB), 500m (265.8 KB), 250m (151.7 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=2021-10-06

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