The photograph also shows parts of California and Arizona. The gulf is the Gulf of California, and the body of water in California is the Salton Sea. The Pacific Ocean is covered in clouds. The effects of irrigation show as dark colors along the rivers and their floodplains .
Deserts show as light colors.
A slight change in color halfway between the Salton Sea and the Gulf of California follows the border between Mexico and California. The darkest colors are mountain ranges stretching along the coasts of California and Mexico.