Images
July 27, 2026 - Rivers of Brazil
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On July 23, 2026, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite acquired this true-color image of the Amazon River Basin in Brazil. The Amazon River is the northernmost of the rivers seen in this image and it lies on a roughly west-to-east axis in this location. Three major tributaries are visible. From northwest moving counterclockwise they are the Purus, Madeira, and Tapajos.
With tributaries extending from the vast savannas to its north and south, the Amazon River runs almost 4,000 miles (1 mile equals 1.6 kilometers) across northern South America from the highland biomes in the foothills of the Andes Mountains to the Atlantic Ocean. It carries twenty percent of all river water discharged into Earth’s oceans—ten times the volume of the Mississippi River. If the Amazon River Basin were draped over the continental United States, it would cover more than three fourths of the country.
The rivers visible in this image cut through the deep green Amazon rainforest—a critical habitat for some of the most sensitive and varied species on Earth. This forest provides more than habitat, however, scientists have pointed out that it is an essential regulator for our planet’s climate and, with a forest canopy so dense and so biologically productive, a key component of the global carbon cycle.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Terra
Date Acquired: 7/23/2026
Resolutions:
1km (381.2 KB), 500m (898.8 KB), 250m (1.2 MB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
On July 23, 2026, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite acquired this true-color image of the Amazon River Basin in Brazil. The Amazon River is the northernmost of the rivers seen in this image and it lies on a roughly west-to-east axis in this location. Three major tributaries are visible. From northwest moving counterclockwise they are the Purus, Madeira, and Tapajos.
With tributaries extending from the vast savannas to its north and south, the Amazon River runs almost 4,000 miles (1 mile equals 1.6 kilometers) across northern South America from the highland biomes in the foothills of the Andes Mountains to the Atlantic Ocean. It carries twenty percent of all river water discharged into Earth’s oceans—ten times the volume of the Mississippi River. If the Amazon River Basin were draped over the continental United States, it would cover more than three fourths of the country.
The rivers visible in this image cut through the deep green Amazon rainforest—a critical habitat for some of the most sensitive and varied species on Earth. This forest provides more than habitat, however, scientists have pointed out that it is an essential regulator for our planet’s climate and, with a forest canopy so dense and so biologically productive, a key component of the global carbon cycle.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Terra
Date Acquired: 7/23/2026
Resolutions:
1km (381.2 KB), 500m (898.8 KB), 250m (1.2 MB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
