The Cucharas River flows northeastward between the Walsen Dike and the Unfug Ridge. North is at the top of the image. The intense shade of red in the alfalfa fields indicates dense vegetation growing quite vigorously. Note where plant density and activity becomes too low the faint red coloring is overcome by the stronger colors representing the soil in which the plants have been growing. The ground area appears in shades of white, blue, or green depending on the soil type and moisture content.
Bare soils are white, blue, and green.
The moister the soil, the darker the color. Dry, sandy land appears white in color. I-25 runs through the middle of the photo and is dark blue. The dry and sandy gravel roads have less intense colors than the asphalt of I-25. In this image these gravel roads appear white.