10 extraordinary images shared by NASA's Earth Observatory
Earth is full of fascinating features, but sometimes it takes a particularly prime vantage point and an especially powerful lens to fully appreciate them.
Here are 10 extraordinary images captured by NASA and shared on their Earth Observatory.
Number 10. Roads made on iced over lakes. Getting supplies to the people living in remote northwestern Canada is often done by plane, but heavier items need to be taken by truck. Roads aren't always available, so in the winter months, paths are created on top of the area's frozen lakes.
Number 9. Bangkok's Green Lung. In the midst of the bustling metropolis is Bang Krachao, a protected space filled with greenery and surrounded by a waterway. It's a popular urban retreat offering low-key attractions like a farmers market and cycling outings.
Number 8. Saharan dust storm reaching Turkey. In February, sand and dust kicked up in the African desert descended upon Asia. NASA cameras captured images of an unusually dense mass as it entered Turkey, ushered in by violent winds.
Number 7. New land off the coast of Louisiana. The Mississippi River Delta has experienced a great amount of land loss, but new natural development has been observed there as well. Land emerged from the water in the early 1970s and has expanded about a square mile every year since.
Number 6. Australia's disappearing and reappearing Lake Mackay. When it's full, which happens after floods and periods of heavy rainfall, it falls somewhere between several yards and dozen or so inches deep. It also qualifies as the continent's 4th largest lake.
Number 5. Islands of the Four Mountains. Part of the Aleutian Islands chain, each of the landmasses features volcanoes that have risen up from the sea floor. This photo, taken from the International Space Station, shows the peaks emerging from a dense cloud bank.
Number 4. Arctic melt pond. Summers in the Arctic cause melting, and when it occurs, bright, turquoise spots appear on the landscape. They form when surface snow liquefies and pools in glacial depressions.
Number 3. Utah potash mining ponds. Vast expanses of the valuable potassium-rich mineral, which is often used to fertilize crops, are drawn from the Earth at this site. Doing so requires filling the area with water, pumping the brine out, and then evaporating the liquid in beds like the ones seen here.
Number 2. B-29 Superfortress plane. Everyone aboard managed to survive the 1947 crash landing, which occurred in Greenland as they were en route to the North Pole. Recovery attempts for the plane haven't gone as well, with one causing the craft to catch fire. It remains there to this day.
Number 1. Guitar-shaped forest. Artist Pedro Martin Ureta's intention of the installation, located in Argentina, was to make something visible from an airplane. He far exceeded his goal, as it can be seen from space as well.
Which of NASA's sightings do you think is the most extraordinary?
Related: Check out the best photos taken through Hubble telescope:
