Rocks are reflective, while snow and ice are absorptive in shortwave infrared band 5. Vegetation and snow are reflective in near-infrared band 4. Therefore, snow appears cyan, bare rock or soil are reddish, and vegetated areas are green. Intermediate colors are caused by mixtures of these materials. Open water is highly absorptive in all bands, and appears black.
Clouds are reflective in all bands, and usually appear white, gray or pink.
The large lake at the upper center of each image is Mono Lake, with its surrounding evaporite deposits. East of the Sierra are Owens Valley, and the White Mountains. The city of Madera in the Central Valley is at lower left. On the western slope, from upper left to lower right, are the drainages of the Stanislaus, Tuolumne, Merced, San Joaquin, and Kings Rivers. Clouds are present on all 3 dates.