The various launch pads of the John F. Kennedy Space Center get larger and more complex as you proceed northward along the coast. Launch Pad 5, where the first Mercury Bight was launched, is difficult to see, while the giant Launch Complex 39 built for Apollo and also used by Skylab covers several square kilometers. Manmade waterways can be traced by the spoil banks which show as small white dots along the right of way. Ethiopia's Lakes Zwai, Langana, Hora Abyata, Koka, and Awusa show different colors. This is primarily due to water temperature differences resulting in each lake supporting different algae and other micromarine life.
Space photography can permit a continual survey of the world's water resources and quality.
The once mighty Colorado River separates the Mexican state of Baja California from Sonora at its mouth. It has been reduced to a sluggish, salty stream by removal of most of the water for irrigation or use by the cities of Southern California. The buff sands of the Grand Sonoran Desert lend color to this extraordinary photography and contrast with the block fault mountains of Baja California. Thus, the interface of meteorology, geology, and oceanography is seen in a very remote area. The geology of south central Iran stands out clearly just east of Shiraz.