Images
June 30, 2026 - Seward Peninsula and Kotzebue Sound
Tweet
The massive Seward Peninsula juts about 200 miles (320 km) into the Bering Sea off the western coast of Alaska. Sitting just south of the Arctic Circle, the tundra-filled peninsula is flanked by the Norton Sound in the south and the Kotzebue Sound in the north. The western tip is the point where continental United States reaches its closest point to Russia. Scientists say it is a remnant of the Bering Land Bridge, a wide swath of land that connected the two continents during the Pleistocene Ice Age.
The tundra climate of the Seward Peninsula is characterized by long, cold winters and short, cool summers. According to the US Forest Service, Average annual snowfall ranges from 39 to 78 inches (1,000 to 2,000 mm). The frigid winter temperatures has led to annual freeze-up of the Kotzebue Sound; however, since 2019 the Sound has failed to completely freeze over in some winters. Sometime near or after mid-July, Kotzebue Sound usually becomes ice-free.
On June 25, 2026, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite acquired this true-color image of Seward Peninsula and the Kotzebue Sound. Only a few patches of thin snow remain on the Peninsula while summer sea ice melt is well underway on the Sound.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Aqua
Date Acquired: 6/25/2026
Resolutions:
1km (117.8 KB), 500m (351.9 KB), 250m (783 KB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
The massive Seward Peninsula juts about 200 miles (320 km) into the Bering Sea off the western coast of Alaska. Sitting just south of the Arctic Circle, the tundra-filled peninsula is flanked by the Norton Sound in the south and the Kotzebue Sound in the north. The western tip is the point where continental United States reaches its closest point to Russia. Scientists say it is a remnant of the Bering Land Bridge, a wide swath of land that connected the two continents during the Pleistocene Ice Age.
The tundra climate of the Seward Peninsula is characterized by long, cold winters and short, cool summers. According to the US Forest Service, Average annual snowfall ranges from 39 to 78 inches (1,000 to 2,000 mm). The frigid winter temperatures has led to annual freeze-up of the Kotzebue Sound; however, since 2019 the Sound has failed to completely freeze over in some winters. Sometime near or after mid-July, Kotzebue Sound usually becomes ice-free.
On June 25, 2026, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite acquired this true-color image of Seward Peninsula and the Kotzebue Sound. Only a few patches of thin snow remain on the Peninsula while summer sea ice melt is well underway on the Sound.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Aqua
Date Acquired: 6/25/2026
Resolutions:
1km (117.8 KB), 500m (351.9 KB), 250m (783 KB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
