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East Coast of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, China (February 1996)

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The indented, serrated coastline near Hong Kong—typical of the entire southeast coastline of China with its jagged peninsulas, countless bays, outstanding natural harbors, and thousands of coastal islands—is captured in this near-vertical photograph around Daya Bay (northernmost) and Mirs Bay. The darker areas are low mountains that range from 2000 to more than 3000 feet (610 to more than 915 meters) above sea level. The real story is the economic development that continues in the British Crown Colony of Hong Kong (part of which is shown along the southwest edge of the photograph)—specifically, Kowloon Peninsula and the New Territories. Immediately north of the New Territories lies Shenzhen, China. In 1980, Shenzhen was a sleepy fishing and duck farming village of 20 000; in 1994, the population had surpassed 2.5 million—perhaps making this the fastest growing urban center on Earth. The thin, lighter lines are roads or railroads that are being constructed to connect developing Shenzhen with other parts of southeast China. This photograph shows that other urban areas near Shenzhen are also beginning to share in the economic prosperity that has resulted from China’s new "open-door" policy to attract overseas technology and investment.

Ebro River Delta, Spain (March 1994)

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This low-oblique, north-looking photograph shows the mouth of the Ebro River, the second longest river in Spain. The Ebro rises in the Cantabria Mountains of northern Spain and flows east-southeast between the Pyrenees Mountains in the north and the Iberian Mountains in the south before entering a wide delta and emptying into the Mediterranean Sea. The river cuts through the coastal ranges in a series of gorges so that seagoing vessels cannot go upstream above the city of Tortosa, 22 miles (35 kilometers) from the river’s mouth. The Ebro River has a drainage basin of over 33 600 square miles (87 024 square kilometers). Irrigation has been practiced along the Ebro’s most important valleys since the time of Moorish occupancy of the area. Today more than 35 major dams help increase irrigated land area to more than 919 715 acres (372 210 hectares). An aircraft contrail traverses west-east near the edge of the photograph.

Euboea Island and Athens, Greece (March 1990)

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The historic city of Athens and nearby Euboea Island, also known as Evvoia Island, are visible in this near-vertical photograph. Athens, the largest city in Greece (brownish-tan area), is located on the Plain of Attica. At times the city has some of Europe’s most polluted air. The city is the administrative, economic, transportation, and cultural center of Greece. Manufactures include oil refinery products; silk, wool, and cotton textiles; machine tools; steel mills; shipyards; food and beverage products; chemicals; pottery; printed materials; and carpets. Tourism is also a major industry. Athens supports a world-famous national library and numerous schools of archeology. Located east of Athens across the Petali�n Gulf is Euboea Island, which is separated from mainland Greece by the Evripos Strait. The island is 90 miles (145 kilometers) long, 4 to 30 miles (6 to 48 kilometers) wide, and covers 1467 square miles (3800 square kilometers). On the island sheep, goats, and cattle are raised in the fertile valleys; olives, grapes, and wheat are grown; magnesite and lignite are mined; and marble is quarried.

Exmouth Gulf, Western Australia (March 1995)

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This near-vertical photograph of Exmouth Gulf, an inlet of the Indian Ocean, and the North West Cape Peninsula on the central coast of Western Australia was taken after heavy tropical rains. Floodwaters (orange-red) appear in the mangrove swamps along the gulf coast and are interspersed throughout the sand dunes near the coast. On the elongated North West Cape Peninsula, Cape Range National Park with its miles (kilometers) of beaches sheltered by coral reefs is visible between Exmouth Gulf and the Indian Ocean. Rainfall is usually meager; however, summer cyclones can flood the deep limestone gullies that extend from the middle of the peninsula toward the gulf and the ocean. Until the early 1950s, this region was sparsely populated; however, with the discovery of oil on the peninsula in 1952, the small town of Exmouth on the gulf side (barely visible in the photograph) quickly became a major port city. As discoveries of oil were made in other areas of Western Australia, other port cities sprang up. Today, Exmouth is more famous for tourism than for shipping.

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