Flying Camera Images 1995

371
THE NORTH FRIESLAND ARCHIPELAGO

(Flying Camera Calendar, January 1995)

N 54^o 40', E 008^o 30'
03 JULY 1991
ca: 1:277,000 - 1:110,000
Height above ground: 280 km
Camera: KFA-1000 30 x 30 cm², f: 1000 mm; Film: Spectrozonal Film SN-10
Upward: N

At low-tide, the morphological characteristic forms of the tidal flats located eastwards of the Frisian Coast are clearly visible as marsh creeks, channels and sandbanks. The western part of the Watt is protected by the Island of Sylt and the sandbanks (almost white-coloured) of Kniepsand (before the island of Amrum), Jap Sand and Norderoog Sand. The three large islands of Sylt, Föhr and Pellworm, running in a line from northwest to southeast, play an important role. The smaller islands in the southwest are "Halligen" (marsh islands), and are of special interest because of their unique characteristics. The Halligen do not have Winter dikes (sea walls) and are consequently flooded by the sea with high storm waves, with the exception of the "Wurts" (a hill with a house built on the top).

North Frisia's coastal region was subject to very rapid changes in the land-water distribution in the past centuries. A moor landscape extended over the flat ice-age sand and gravel deposits. In the course of time, the sea-level rose higher in the Post-glacial Period and flooding and deposition of marine sediments occurred. Due to the relatively rapid deposition of sediments, large areas of the present-day North Frisia tidelands have dried out. This led to the formation of new moors, which however, again were covered by new layers of marine sediments.

Due to storm-floods in the Middle Ages - especially in 1362 - and the effects of the breaking waves, part of these deposits were again later eroded. This process was intensified by agricultural use and extraction of salt from peat formations. The rise of the sea level permitted the sea to flood far into the East, up to the area of the present-day coast line. The remaining islands, some of which had higher-lying core-areas composed of glacial deposits, i.e. the islands of Sylt, Föhr and Amrum; and which are subject to low tides in the Watt twice a day. During the high tides, the sediments are again carried up to the tidal area and deposited on the beach.

On the coast and the area of the islands, "new land" was won from the sea, by diking up the fresh deposits. However, when the sea-level continued to rise, the deposits were partly washed away. Small deposits, which - after the Great Flood of 1362 - remained on higher ground and are still preserved as "Halligen", i.e. as marsh islands. These islands will be eroded by the continuous rise in the sea-level, even without human influence, unless they are protected by bank stabilization measures.

(Flying Camera Calendar, February 1995)

N 34^o 48', E 048^o 31'
18 JUNE 1976
ca: 1:50,000 - 1:2,500
Height above ground: ca. 1000 m
Upward: SE
Camera: Nikon 2, 24 x 36 mm², f: 85 mm; Film: Kodachrome 25

The city of Hamadan is located 260 km Southwest of Teheran on the long-distance highway to Baghdad (Iraq) and is the capital city of the Iranian Hamadad Province, with a population of 165,000 inhabitants. The city is built upon the same site, as the capital city of Ecbatana of the Median Empire, which was conquered by the Persian Achaemenids in the Sixth Century B.C.. Until the collapse of the Parthian Empire in the Third Century A.D., Ecbantana was the summer residence of the Persian and Parthian kings. Remains of these historical periods are, however, represented only by the corrugated grooves of the hill on the eastern rim of the inner city. The hill was originally the location of the royal citadel and the Temple of the Sun.

In 643 A.D. the city was conquered by the Arabs; and reached the height of its prosperity as the capital city of the Seljukian Dynasty just after the turn of the year 1000 A.D.. The city was destroyed by the Mongolian hordes of Genghis Khan in 1220 A.D.. Hamadan later was reduced to the level of an unimportant country town, mainly consisting of ruins; the population rose to 15,000 inhabitants around 1900. A slow upswing resulted from the re-building of the road connection between Teheran and Baghdad in the 1900's. Today the city is the centre of an intensively productive agricultural area, with very few industries - i.e. processing of leather, wood and copper products; and production of raisins - and is mainly known for the manufacturing of carpets and rugs. The border with the former Ottoman Empire results in the fact, that a quarter of the population speaks Turkish.

The Old Town is dominated by the differences between the small-scale town quarters - the Mahalleh, constructed in interlocking style of buildings - and the radial main streets, which are linked by the Ringstreet of 1.6 km diameter. Typical for almost all Iranian cities is the geometric pattern of the streets, which was laid over the old systems under the rule of Reza Shah - founder of the Pahlavi Dynasty. In the 1960's, these roads were widened, in order to accommodate automobile traffic in the city. The Old Town quarter, originally built from mapped plans, was later divided according to the respective property and family relationships' conditions. The planned quarters were rebuilt in a series of closed-off cul-de-sac cells; which have been partly cut through by the modern street-building processes.

Clearly visible and also typical for the buildings, is the uniform low height of the buildings in the old quarters, and the lack of high-rise buildings within these areas. In the northeastern part of the City Ring, old sections of ruins are visible. The city of Hamadan has been declared a National Monument; as a result, this area is a focal point of extensive restoration projects of the deteriorated witnesses of Hamadan's ancient history.

(Flying Camera Calendar, March 1995)

N 26^o 02', W 080^o 53' 19 OCTOBER 1974
1:1,000,000 - ca. 1:350,000
Height above ground: 930 km
Upward: N
Multispectral Scanner, LANDSAT

The Everglades are a fresh-water marsh of enormous size, which covers almost the entire southern part of the Florida peninsula. In the West, the Everglades extend almost up to the "10,000 Islands" on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. To the North, the Everglades pass into the Okeechoobee Lake; to the east the Lake borders on the densely populated Atlantic Coast. Large areas of the Everglades are covered by saw grass and rushes, which the Indians name "Pa-hay-okee" (grassy waters). The area is interspersed with flat hummocks covered with occasional shrubs and palm-trees, and flat hummocks covered with occasional shrubs and palm-trees, and mangrove stands in the salt-water areas on the coast. Southwest of Okeechoobee Lake are large cypress and corkscrew pine swamps, where mainly the deciduous cypresses - draped with Spanish mosses - grow. These trees died out in Central Europe during the Pleistocene Ice Ages, because of the Alpine barrier. In the Tertiary Period, these old trees provided the organic materials of the European brown-coal seams; in North America the trees could grow in Southern areas. In the swamp areas, the Seminole Indians could retain their settlements in Florida; other Indian tribes were forced by white colonists to re-settle in Oklahoma. The descendants of the Seminoles still live today around and south of Lake Okeechoobee, mainly in reservations.

The southern part of the Everglades was declared as a National Park in 1947; the Park covers an area of 5,660 km² . The Park is located in the transition area from sub-tropic to tropic climate zones; due to the different types of animals living in the Everglades - alligators, turtles, pelicans, herons, etc. - the Park is visited by more than 1 million tourists each year. This unique natural landscape is, however, increasingly endangered; mainly by agricultural exploitation north of the Park. Also, the water drainage to the South increases the amount of fertilizers which flow into the Park area.

A series of famous seaside resorts has been built on the offshore beach reefs along the raised Atlantic shoreline. The resorts are located along the shore from Miami Beach over Fort Lauderdale to West Palm Beach (upper image border). These resorts are visited mainly by well-to-do classes of society, from the Northeast of the USA, as well as Europeans, in winter; the resorts are also popular as retirement residences. In the hinterland of Miami and Fort Lauderdale, there are extensive settlement areas, which adjoin large citrus-fruit plantations (red areas). Sometimes the harvest is endangered by influxes of cold winter air from the North. New settlements are being built along the Gulf coast; which in contrast to the East coast, is a depressed coast with many islands and bays. The new settlements are built mainly as retirement-home towns.

South of Miami Beach and Biscayne Bay, the chain of the Key Islands begins with the island of Key Largo. The "US 1" (United States Highway No. 1) runs to Key West via numerous bridges linking the Key Islands.

(Flying Camera Calendar, April 1995)

N 50^o 02', E 008^o 34'
04 AUGUST 1994, 15:37h
1:40,000 - ca. 1:15,000
Height above ground: ca. 6000 m
Camera: Zeiss RMK A4 15/23, f: 153 mm
Film: KODAK Aerochrome MS 2448
Upward: N

The Rhine-Main Airport was first opened in 1936; today it is Europe's second largest airport, with freight movements of 1.178 million tons in 1993, the airport is Europe's largest freight airport. The number of employees of the more than 400 firms located at the airport, is ca. 53,000 people - "FRA" is the largest employer in all of Germany.

Due to improvements in infrastructure - such as better transfer connections, expansion of firm offers, and a drop in ticket prices for air flights - the mid-1980's were a boom period, which was interrupted only during the Gulf War. The present liberalisation of air traffic movements has caused increasing competition, continuous lowering of air-fares and a high increase in growth rates. Frankfurt Airport will maintain its position in air services, against the competition of the London, Amsterdam and Paris Airports. There is a limit however to extending the capacity of Flughafen Frankfurt/Main AG (FAG) airfield's terrain; the surrounding forest areas cannot be built-over. Both of the West-East parallel runways lie too close together; and air-traffic movements do not permit independent flight operations. The North-South oriented runway West, may only be used for take-offs. Unless there is an improvement in flight-control technology, Frankfurt's capacity is limited. Today, the start and landing slots are already in short supply.

The new Terminal 2, located in the northeast of the airport, was opened for service on October 24, 1994. An automatic Passenger-Transport-System on the buildings' roofs, connects the new Terminal every minute with the old Terminal 1. The Sky-Line and the automatic baggage transport system at Rhine-Main-Airport is the only one of its kind in the world and guarantees a competitive transfer time of 45 minutes from one airplane to another. The present tunnel-railroad-station will be replaced by a surface long-distance railway station connection between the West-East-Expressway and the Air Terminal. Short-distance trips to FRA will be increasingly replaced by high-speed trains.

Transport of air-freight is improved by an optimal superhighway connection. Additionally the main freight center, located in the northwest of the airport area, will be expanded by another center, named "Cargo City South" in the southern part of the airport. The US Air Force Base will be evacuated, so that extensive areas will be added to the airport and linked to the Autobahn connections.

FÜNFSEENLAND, UPPER BAVARIA

(Flying Camera Calendar, May 1995)

N 48^o 02', E 011^o 10'
APRIL 1994
1:500,000 - ca. 1:55,000
Data: Spaceborne Image Radar-C (SIR-C)
X-Synthetic Aperture Radar (X-SAR)
Upward: NW

The Oberpfaffenhofen area is the major test site for SIR-C/X-SAR calibration and for scientific investigations in ecology, hydrology and geology. Spaceborne Image Radar-C and X-Synthetic Aperture Radar (SIR-C/X-SAR) is an international, cooperative space project and part of NASA's Mission to Planet Earth. The radar systems illuminate Earth with microwaves, and allow detailed observations at any time, regardless of weather or sunlight conditions. SIR-C/X-SAR uses three microwave wavelengths: L-band (24 cm), C-band (6 cm) and X-band (3 cm). The multi-frequency data will be used by the international scientific community in order to better understand the global environment and how it is changing.

SIR-C was developed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). X-SAR was developed by the Dornier and Alenia Spazio companies for the German space agency, the Deutsche Agentur für Raumfahrtangelegenheiten (DARA) and the Italian space agency, the Agenzia Spaziale Italiana (ASI), in cooperation with the Deutsche Forschungsanstalt für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.v. (DLR) as the major partner in science, operations and data processing of X-SAR data. The first SIR-C/X-SAR mission was launched on April 9, 1994 and a second mission was launched on September 30, 1994.

SIR-C/X-SAR acquired this image at 04:00 GMT at night, as a thick cloud layer covered Germany, and shortly after a heavy storm covered the Oberpfaffenhofen area with 20 centimeters of snow. Therefore, the quality of the image demonstrates the capabilities of radar remote sensing for environmental monitoring.

The large dark area at center left is Lake Ammersee; the two smaller lakes right of the Ammersee are the Wörth- and the Pilsensee. Colors in the image, highlight the differences in which SIR-C/X-SAR's three radar bands can "see" on the ground; L-band is red, C-band is green, and X-band is blue. If the three frequencies were all "reporting" the same signal, the image would appear in black and white. Instead, the colors indicate the differing radar backscatter mechanisms depending on the wavelength used. Forested areas are represented in red, because the long L-band wavelengths penetrate the vegetation canopy and are scattered by tree trunks and branches, which causes high radar return signals. In areas of low or no vegetation, the longer wavelengths show specular reflections or forward scattering away from the radar antennas, but the shorter C- and X-band wavelengths are multiply scattered. Therefore, agricultural fields appear in shades of blue (X-band) or, -where the vegetation was taller, -such as in the marshy areas at the northern tip of the Ammersee (Ampermoos) and the area between Pilsen- and Ammersee, green to yellow colors prevail (C- and X-band). On bare soil fields, the surface roughness and the soil moisture are the major backsetter parameters.

(Flying Camera Calendar, June 1995)

N 51^o 11', W 001^o 51'
24 SEPTEMBER 1970
ca. 1:3,000 - ca. 1:150
Height above ground: ca.250 m
Camera: Nikon 2, 24 x 36 mm², f: 85 mm; Film: Kodachrome 25

The first black-and-white oblique and vertical aerial photographs of Stonehenge, located 12 km north of Salisbury, were taken by Lietuenant P.H. Sharpe from an Army war-balloon in 1906. These old air-photographs show that Stonehenge was not regarded as a "protected" prehistoric monument. The standing stones were tipped over, and the cap-stones lay scattered around the inner circle. The landscape was scored by the tyre ruts of military trucks; many of the adjacent monuments of Neolithic and Bronze Age (ca. 3500 to 500 B.C.) were also seriously damaged. This desolate condition remained until the 1960's until the monument was put under the National Monuments Trust of Great Britian; and declared as the "Stonehenge World Heritage Site"; reconstruction of the original form of the monument has been carried out as far as possible.

Stonehenge is the largest megalithic site in Europe and part of other monument complexes located in Salisbury Plain. The Stonehenge Complex was built in four phases, from the Neolithic to the Late Bronze Age (3,500 B.C. to ca. 500 B.C.). In the third building period, the central monument was built in the form which exists today. There are five central triliths, built with two vertical "standing stones" and cap stones and surrounded by an outer stone-ring. The entrance is composed of two large sandstone megaliths, wherein the famous "heel stone" still exists. During the fourth - and last - phase of construction, another circle was built around the core. The outermost ring was built as a wooden-post ring-ditch (white circles in the grass), and is of "late" Neolithic Period. The construction is similar to the reconstructed Woodhenge monument, located six kilometres north of the Stonehenge Complex.

The triliths' blocks and cap-stones are built of "granitic" stone, which contains the blue-colored mineral chalcanthite, and are therefore referred to as "blue stones". Even up to the present day, the origin of Stonehenges' quarried blocks has not been definitely determined. There are legends that the stones were quarried in Wales during the Neolithic period, and transported 300 km overland to Southern England on wooden rollers, drawn by animal- and man-power. There are, however, blue-stone deposits as "Ice Age erratics" located in the southern parts of Southwest England, in the neighborhood of Stonehenge.

Stonehenge is an "astronomical clock", wherein the people from the neolithic to the Bronze Age periods, determined the various constellations of sun, moon and stars. For example, an estimated extension of the mid-point "heel-stone" to a point on the horizon, determined the time of sunrise for the summer solstice. Thereby, the astronomers of the Neolithic and Bronze Ages could exactly predict the times of the seasons, and also the phases - and eclipses of sun, moon and stars.

(Flying Camera Calendar, July 1995)

S 21^o 30', W 052^o 01'
05 AUGUST 1986, 13:45h
1:300,000 - 1:120,000
Height above ground: 832 km
Multispectral Scanner (HRV-XS) SPOT 1, Bands: 3, 2, 1
Upward: N

Brazil is the largest and most densely populated country in South America. The country has a predominantly tropical climate, and in the South subtropic conditions. The name "Brazil" is derived from the reddish shimmer of the Brazil trees, which in earlier times were cut down in large amounts. Brazil is rich in natural resources such as woodlands, and is now in the process of transition from an agrarian culture to an industrial country.

Geologically, Brazil is a nucleus of South American Precambrian basement rocks, upon which broad basins formed during the Mesozoic and Caenozoic Eras. The basins have been filled up with sediment layers of many thousand metres depth. One of these basins is the Paraná Basin, with an area of 1,200,000 km².

The Rio Paraná is Southern America's most important river; extending some 4,400 km in length, and flows into the wide bay of Rio de la Plata. The river's name "Paraná", is first applied to the joining of the two rivers Rio Paranaiba and Rio Grande, the two sources of Rio Paraná. Rio Paranaiba's headwater region is located on the western slope of Serra Mata da Corba, in the State of Minas Gerais. The Rio Grande has its source on the near-shore Serra da Mantiqueira River, in the State of Serra da Mantiqueira. Some of the left-bank-tributary rivers rise in the crystalline highlands; those rivers flowing in from the right are of lesser length and importance, due to the nearby watershed.

The satellite image covers the part of Rio Paraná near the town of Panorama, located some 1,000 km westwards of Rio de Janeiro. Due to the creation of extreme river meanders, numerous old river branches and/or silted-up river courses are created in the main river channel, and in some of the tributary streams. Gallery-forests and swamps have grown up along the river margins Rio Paraná. Higher-lying areas are intensively used for agriculture, predominately for cultivation of wheat, sorghum and soybeans. All the stages of ripening crops are visible in the image: mown fileds (light areas); recently sown fields or new shoots (greenish colours), and fields with dense stands of photosynthesis-active plants (reddish colours). Many access ways and roads border on the geometrically demarcated fields. In the eastern part of the satellite image, settlements and cities are visible in blue tones.

(Flying Camera Calendar, August 1995)

N 50^o 59', E 011^o 20'
08 MAY 1994, 12:00h
ca. 1:10,000 - ca.1:4,000
Height above ground: 1,500 m
Upward: S
Camera: ZEISS RMK A4 15/23, f: 153 mm, film: Agfa Avi-Chrome 200PE

The City of Weimar is located in the German State of Thuringia, and has a population of 60,000 residents. Weimar is built in a syncline, between the mountain Ettersberg in the North and the foot-hills of the Ilm-Saale-Plate to the South. The syncline is interbedded by a Northwest-Southeast fault - the Ilmtal and Weimar trench fault. The City of Weimar is built upon the bottom of the trench fault, and has extended over both banks of the Ilm River. The Ilm flows out of the Thüringen Forest, and receives inflow from many brooks in the city area.

Weimar is built upon very old cultural areas. Vestiges of remains, dating from almost all periods of Pre- and Protohistory, indicate that the region has - for thousands of years - been preferred as a settlement area due to the prevailing favourable natural conditions. The present-day City of Weimar has developed out of three core-settlements, which in the course of time have grown together. The settlement on Jacob's Hill developed out of an old Thuringian village, dating from the Fifth to Sixth Century A.D.; a settlement at the foot of a moated castle, which was built on the left bank of the Ilm River; and the settlement Upper Weimar - which was built upon the grounds of a Cistercian nunnery, founded in the 12th Century A.D.. Weimar was first mentioned in a document, dated 3 July 975, which was drawn up and signed by Emperor Otto II in "Wimares". With the development of an artisan and market system ca. 1250 A.D., Weimar developed an "urban" character, and was first mentioned as a city in 1254. These older town areas now underlie the castle (an old moated fortress); the present-day Herder Square, and the moat and Market Street (upper left). In 1299 and 1424, the town was damaged by wide-spread fires; the out-of-the-way location from important trade routes, and the designation of Wittenberg as the capital city of the Ernestine Branch of Saxony in 1485; impeded both the areal expansion and economic development of Weimar.

Weimar's fame was acclaimed beyond Thuringia's borders, as it became the city of the German Classical Period in the last quarter of the 18th Century. The four "greats" - Wieland, Goethe, Herder and Schiller - were surrounded by a circle of prominent personages; and the City presented a new character. At the turn of the 18th to the 19th Century, wide streets and large squares were constructed, and in place of the old city walls and moats - public parks and gardens were built. The City of Weimar was given the title of the "Garden City". In 1846, the city was linked to the railroad network, which improved conditions for the commercial economic sector. Industry was also established in Weimar and led to the expansion of built-up areas within the city's territory. The residential districts are clearly visible, due to the regular ground plans near the train station (lower centre in photograph) and in the southwestern part of the city (upper right).

The City of Weimar played an important role in German history at the beginning of the 20th Century; on the 11th of August 1919 the Weimar Constitution was adopted. Weimar was declared the capital city of the State of Thuringia in 1920. The Gauforum (Regional Forum) in the centre of the photograph, was built during the National Socialist Period. This is a neo-classical building complex, constructed around a large square (left centre in photograph), and the Weimarhalle (1932/33) and Weimar Park, with the Swansea Bathing Pool (middle right centre of photograph) and the sports field and stadium (right in photograph). There are many areas on the outskirts of the city, which are "green lungs" and open areas. These areas provide rest and recreation zones for the population, and serve the function of ecological "green lungs".

(Flying Camera Calendar, September 1995)

S 27^o 29', E 020^o 02'
07 APRIL 1986, 08:50h
1:300,000 - 1:120,000
Height above ground: 832 km
Multispectral Scanner (HRV-XS) SPOT 1, Bands: 3, 2, 1
Upward: N

Large areas of central southern Africa are covered by wind-drift sand deposits, referred to as "Kalahari sands". On the western border of the southern Kalahari, the landscape is characterized by uniform dune-fields (upper right in satellite image). Further westward, the dunes change into longitudinal dunes, with heights from 5 to 10 metres, and spaced parallel from 1 to 3 km apart. These dunes are oriented WNW to ESE and are components of an 100 to 200 km wide dune belt, which was deposited more than 10,000 years ago. The dune belt extends from the Damara Highlands, east of Windhoek/Namibia, to the Orange River near Upington, South Africa. The dune systems are fixed, and conserve both an older south-western wind-stream and a younger eastern Paleo wind-stream. The dune crests are only still mobile, where the sparse protective vegetation cover has been destroyed by overgrazing.

The Southern Kalahari has a continental climate, with extreme differences in temperatures; these range from under 0 ^oC to above 40 ^oC even in the Winter months. The average annual amount of precipitation lies between 150 to 200 mm. Rainfall occurrences are very irregular, and often there are drought periods, some of which last many years. Usually rainfall occurs in the Summer months from December to April; usually in the form of short but heavy thunderstorms. Then, the mainly dry river valleys (rivere), have water-flow; such as in the streams lower left and upper right in the satellite image.

In the round soil pans, water collects after episodic rainfall occurrences; however, the water is strongly saline and consequently cannot be used for irrigation purposes nor for cattle watering tanks. These ephemeral lakes are very shallow bodies of water, with high lye concentrations, which dry out within a few weeks. In the centre of the lakes there are salt crusts and on the margins numerous desiccation cracks in the clay beds. In the dried-out stage, these salt pans cover depression-areas from several kilometres up to tens of kilometres extent. In the satellite image due to the low angle of the morning sun, the salt pans are visible as white reflecting areas.

Darker colour tones interrupt the striation pattern of the longitudinal dunes. In these areas, the numerous dendritic drainage canals lay bare the substratum of the sand dunes (lower right in image). There could be no greater contrast to present-day conditions; for in this area the glacial deposits of the Karoo Age Dwyka Formation, were formed over 290 million years ago.

(Flying Camera Calendar, October 1995)

N 28^o 37', W 106^o 06'
21 SEPTEMBER 1993, 10:14h
1:25,000 - ca. 1:10,000
Height above ground: 2,000 m
Camera: ZEISS RMK A 2/4 15/23, f: 152,76 mm
Film: AGFA AVI CHROME 200 PE 1
Upward: N

Chihuahua is the capital city of the State of Chihuahua; comprising an area of approximately 247,000 km². Chihuahua is Mexico's largest city, with an area equivalent to the "old" Republic of Germany. The city borders in the North and Northeast directly on the United States of America, with the river Rio Grande del Norte as a common border between Mexico and the State of Texas.

Chihuahua's area is located mainly on a high plateau, which to the West (left in photograph) is the Sierra Madre Occidental, rising to a height of 3,000 metres. In the early 1960's, a railroad connection to the Pacific Ocean was built; the railroad runs through the Barranca del Cobre - a tourist attraction which can certainly be compared to the Grand Canyon in the USA. The eastern part of Chihuahua, between Sierra Madre Occidental and the Rio Grande, belongs to the great Basin Ranges System. The intramontane basins are characterized by a continental highland climate; summer temperatures rise above 40 ^oC, in winter the temperature drops lower than -15 ^oC. Precipitation rates vary between 200 mm in the Basin area, and rise to more than 1,000 mm in the Sierra.

The arid regions are suitable only for extensive cattle husbandry, and the prerequisite therefore are the Latifundia - i.e. large estate holdings. As a result the population density is very low - i.e. only nine persons per km². In the Colonial Period mining for mainly gold and silver, was practiced in the Sierra Madre. Even today, Chihuahua is the state with the largest percentage of mining activities. Gold and silver are mined, along with tin, coal, iron ores, lead and copper.

The capital city of Chihuahua, with a population of half a million inhabitants, is the central place of the state. Only Ciudad Juarez is larger than Chihuahua; the city is an important border town, and center of the Maquiladoras - i.e. refining plants. Chihuahua city was founded in the 17th century; during the Colonial Period the famous cathedral was built on the Plaza de Constituciòn.

SA Padre Miquel Hildalgo, summoned the people to a war of Independence and was shot down with his followers in Chihuahua in 1811. Hildalgo is referred to as the "Father of Mexican Independence".

During the Mexican Revolution, Pancho Villa had his headquarters in Mexico City. The Pancho Villa Museum was built in his honour in Mexico City.

Today, Chihuahua is an important industrial and commercial center. The continuing industrial expansion and investments in large-scale irrigation works; as well as Mexico's membership in NAFTA will increase Chihuahua's important role in the future.

(Flying Camera Calendar, November 1995)

N 45^o 05', E 002^o 40'
1985
ca 1:600,000 - ca 1:130,000
Height above ground: 705 km
Thematic Mapper (TM), LANDSAT 4
Upward: N

The Monts du Cantal are a volcanic massif, with an East to West extension of more than 70 km. The monts were raised in the Neogen/Miocene Era as a stratovolcanic, i.e. more than fourteen million years ago. The original height of 3,000 metres and extent of 40 to 70 km in diameter of the Monts du Cantal, can be compared to the dimensions of Mount Etna.

Today, however, the Cantal is a volcanic ruin; running water and ice age glaciers have partly eroded the basalt sheets into ravines. The hard andesites and trachytes of the numerous pipe fillings have been cleared out; and the loose sediments composed of ashes, volcanic cinders and tuff, have been partly removed. The main peak, Plomb du Cantal, is today 1,858 metres in height; and after the volcano Puy de Sancy - rising to 1,885 metres and located in the northern Monts Dore - the second highest mountain of Auvergne and the whole Massif Central.

The Auvernian volcanic landscape presents multiple volcanic forms to the observer; adjoining the picturesque Massiv of Monts Dore, which lies north of Cantal. The headwater streams of the Dordogne are visible in the northern border of the satellite image, and divide the Mont Dore and the northern lying Chaîne des Puys. This is a prominent chain, composed of more than 80 crater cones, which are interrupted by basaltic flows, submerged crater vents, and crowned by the dome-shaped trachytic tumulus of the famous Puy de Dôme (1,465 metres). The youngest of these volcanic forms developed only 4,000 years ago.

All of the volcanic forms are located on the upper floor, on the numerous North-South course of the break line on the crystalline peneplain of the Variscan mountains of the Palaeozoic Era. This basement rock in the Tertiary Period, as a product of the Alpidic orogeny, collapsed and horst blocks were raised up.

The rainy and cool flat upland areas of the Monts du Cantal, referred to a "planèzes", are mainly without forest cover. These areas are used only for grazing heavy livestock, and in the summit areas for grazing sheep. Only a few central places, such as Aurillac (650m MSL) on the southwestern slopes and St. Flour (880m MSL, eastern part of image), provide the rural population in the isolated farms and small hamlets with goods and services. In order to counteract the outward migration of small farmers from the rural areas; tourist industries are being promoted in the monts. The Monts du Cantal and Monts Dore in the heart of France, are very popular areas for walking tours in summer and skiing in winter.

(Flying Camera Calendar, December 1995)

N 36^o 30', W 005^o 40'
27 JULY 1992
ca. 1:235,000 - ca 1:130,000
Height above ground: 235 km
Camera: KFA-1000 30x30 cm², f: 1000 mm
Film: Spectrozonal Film SN-10
Upward: NNE

Southern Andalusia has a wide variety of landscape structures; in the central area, the Betis Cordillera run from North to South and are visible in bright green. The irregular forms of mountain chains and depressions of the Betis Cordillera are clearly visible in the centre of the photograph. The Mediterranean evergreen oak forests are widespread in the Cordillera; a large percentage of cork oaks in the forests, provided the basis for the development of Spanish cork products.

The Betis Zone borders in the East and North on Campo de Gibraltar; this is a young geological depression which extends to the Mediterranean coast. Noteworthy are the irrigated crop-farms along the coast; the crops are also supplied with water from two nearby reservoirs; and mainly from the Bay of Algeciras in the South of the fault trough (lower right). The Bay is bordered by large-size city settlements. The seaport Algeciras is located on the west side of the Bay, and Gibraltar on the opposite eastern side, at the foot of the long Jurassic Limestone cliff; La Linea is located on the North side of the Bay. First in 711 A.D., the Arabs and Berbers landed at Djebel al Tarik (Tarik Mountain), named after the leader Tarik, with an army composed of Arabian and Berber soldiers. Gibraltar was named after the mountain of Tarik. The Iberian Peninsula was conquered after only a few years by Tarik. Gibraltar has been under jurisdiction of the English since 1713; at present it has a limited form of self-government.

In distinct contrast to Campo de Gibraltar, a broad depression is visible in the East-Northeast on the left of the photograph. These are isolated and strongly eroded remains of the Betis Cordillera. Large differences are apparent in the field patterns; regarding the size, form and utilization of field-plots; and reflects the present-day state of an agrarian landscape dominated by large land-owners. The traditional forms of dry farming are being replaced by modern irrigation farms. Also, recent innovation processes are rapidly supplanting traditional dry-farming cultivation products; such as grains, wine, cotton and olives; in favour of large-scale growing of sunflowers.

The reddish colours in the coastal sea-shore area near Gibraltar, are indicators of shallow waters, or high content of water-borne sediments and suspended mater, as well as showing existing currents. In the Straits of Gibraltar, the water depth is approximately 350 metres, and an important exchange process takes place in the Mediterranean. The instreaming of low-saline sub-surface Atlantic Ocean water takes place with a simultaneous outflow of small amounts of Mediterranean waters in the lower depths. Without this inflow, the level of the Mediterranean would - theoretically - sink more than 0.5 metres per year, due to the high rate of evaporation.

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Contact: mapref@mcmaster.ca
Last Reviewed: June 27, 2002
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