Images
September 13, 2025 - Yacyretá Reservoir and Iberá Wetlands
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On September 12, 2025, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) acquired this true-color image that highlights both the Yacyretá Reservoir and the Iberá Wetlands.
Both of these features exist only because of water flow from the Paraguay-Parana River system, the second-largest river system in South America. The Middle Parana River, which stretches across this image in a generally east-to-west axis, forms the border between Paraguay (north) and Argentina (south).
The large lake along the eastern Parana River, known as Yacyretá Reservoir or Lago Apereá, was formed after a power plant on the Yacyretá Dam began operating in 1994. The construction of the dam began as a joint project between Paraguay and Argentina in 1983. The hydroelectric plant provides critical power supply to both countries, and the lake is a popular tourism attraction as well as an important fishery, but the initial flooding behind the dam displaced tens of thousands of people, killed livestock and wildlife, and forever changed the ecosystem of that portion of the Parana River.
To the south of the Yacyretá Reservoir, a mossy-green area marks the majority of the Iberá Wetlands. This sprawling area of northeast Argentina is one of the largest wetlands in the world and a popular ecotourism destination. This includes Iberá National Park is a protected area of wetlands and grasslands established in 2018 with land acquired by conservation groups and then donated to the government of Argentina. Encompassing 1,370 square kilometers (530 square miles) of the Corrientes region, the park is part of a “rewilding” program which aims to reintroduce keystone species to the oasis such as jaguars and capybaras that have previously been driven away by hunting, ranching, and other human activities.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Terra
Date Acquired: 9/12/2025
Resolutions:
1km (135.2 KB), 500m (365.5 KB), 250m (743.2 KB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
On September 12, 2025, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) acquired this true-color image that highlights both the Yacyretá Reservoir and the Iberá Wetlands.
Both of these features exist only because of water flow from the Paraguay-Parana River system, the second-largest river system in South America. The Middle Parana River, which stretches across this image in a generally east-to-west axis, forms the border between Paraguay (north) and Argentina (south).
The large lake along the eastern Parana River, known as Yacyretá Reservoir or Lago Apereá, was formed after a power plant on the Yacyretá Dam began operating in 1994. The construction of the dam began as a joint project between Paraguay and Argentina in 1983. The hydroelectric plant provides critical power supply to both countries, and the lake is a popular tourism attraction as well as an important fishery, but the initial flooding behind the dam displaced tens of thousands of people, killed livestock and wildlife, and forever changed the ecosystem of that portion of the Parana River.
To the south of the Yacyretá Reservoir, a mossy-green area marks the majority of the Iberá Wetlands. This sprawling area of northeast Argentina is one of the largest wetlands in the world and a popular ecotourism destination. This includes Iberá National Park is a protected area of wetlands and grasslands established in 2018 with land acquired by conservation groups and then donated to the government of Argentina. Encompassing 1,370 square kilometers (530 square miles) of the Corrientes region, the park is part of a “rewilding” program which aims to reintroduce keystone species to the oasis such as jaguars and capybaras that have previously been driven away by hunting, ranching, and other human activities.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Terra
Date Acquired: 9/12/2025
Resolutions:
1km (135.2 KB), 500m (365.5 KB), 250m (743.2 KB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
