January 17, 2023 - South Florida

Florida
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On January 11, 2023, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer
(MODIS) on board NASA’s Terra satellite acquired a true-color image of
a sunny winter’s day in South Florida. The view stretches from the
near-circular Lake Okeechobee in the north to the Florida Keys in the
south, and from the Gulf of Mexico (west) to the Atlantic Ocean.

The large, nearly circular body of water near the top of the image is
Lake Okeechobee, the largest lake in Florida. Although the surface area
measures about 730 square miles, the lake is extremely shallow with an
average depth of 9 feet. Okeechobee fills multiple functions, including
commercial and sport fishing, flood control, and acts as a reservoir
for water for much of South Florida.

South of Okeechobee and reaching to the southern tip of coastal
Florida, a vast muddy-green area marks the Florida Everglades, the
largest subtropical wilderness in the United States. Part of the
Everglades has been protected as the Everglades National Park, which
has also been designated as UNESCO World Heritage Site, an
International Biosphere Reserve, and a Wetland of International
Importance. The Park covers 2,358 square miles (6,105 square km) of
Florida’s southern tip.

Curving off of the tip of Florida are a string of islands, islets, and
reefs known as the Florida Keys. They stretch about 497 miles (309 km)
from the Virgin Key to the western-most Dry Tortugas. Key West,
probably the most famous of the Florida Keys, lies about 100 miles (160
km) from the mainland and is the southern-most city in the United
States. The bright waters of the Florida Bay sit between the Keys and
mainland Florida.

Large swaths of gray color the mainland, most prominently along the
east and west coasts, but also scattered across the state. These are
cities, highways, and other areas of human construction. The largest
area on the west coast is Fort Myers. The large swath along the east
coast shows almost unbroken connections between metropolitan areas
beginning with Miami in the south and extending to West Palm Beach in
the north.

Image Facts
Satellite: Terra
Date Acquired: 1/11/2023
Resolutions: 1km (122.4 KB), 500m (307.1 KB), 250m (581.6
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=2023-01-17

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