October 17, 2021 - Autumn Colors in France and Spain

France and Spain

Autumn oranges and yellows wash the forests of France and Spain in mid-October 2021. This flush of color, created by the changing of the leaves of deciduous trees, can best be seen in northern and central France (north). The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA’s Terra satellite acquired this true-color image of the fall scene on October 14.

France and Spain are separated by the Pyrenees Mountains, which stretches 270 miles (430 km) from the Bay of Biscay (west) to the Mediterranean Sea (east). The central portion of the Pyrenees includes the highest summits of the range, with a maximum elevation of 11,168 feet (3,404 m).

Image Facts
Satellite: Terra
Date Acquired: 10/14/2021
Resolutions: 1km (1.4 MB), 500m (3.8 MB), 250m (2.9 MB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit: MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC