Images
August 30, 2026 - Peru
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The country of Peru is a dazzling array of contrasts, harboring beautiful ocean coasts, towering (and sometimes intimidating) mountains, and deep green rainforests. The third largest country in South America, it is also extremely biodiverse, with more than 20,375 species of flora, according to Biofin, and providing habitat for at least 1,847 species of birds (third in the world), 523 species of mammals (5th in the world), and 624 species of amphibian (4th in the world). The country takes first place for species of fish (2,145 species) and butterflies (4,000) and, uniquely, more than 4,000 species of potato are also found in this amazing country.
On August 28, 2026, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite acquired this true-color image of a portion of Peru.
In the lower left (southwest) portion of the image ocean fog can be seen creeping over a portion of the Pacific coast. The foggy coast quickly gives way to steep, rugged, and sparsely vegetated peaks of the Andes mountains. In the east the mountains give way to hills and then flatten to house the thick rainforest of the Amazon. The Huallaga River (north) and the Ucayali River (south) rise from the Andes and twist generally northeast across northern Peru. The water that forms the Ucayali River flows, through smaller rivers, from high in the Andes. The Ucayali River is the main headstream of the Amazon River.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Terra
Date Acquired: 8/28/2026
Resolutions:
1km (195.5 KB), 500m (529.5 KB), 250m (317.7 KB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
The country of Peru is a dazzling array of contrasts, harboring beautiful ocean coasts, towering (and sometimes intimidating) mountains, and deep green rainforests. The third largest country in South America, it is also extremely biodiverse, with more than 20,375 species of flora, according to Biofin, and providing habitat for at least 1,847 species of birds (third in the world), 523 species of mammals (5th in the world), and 624 species of amphibian (4th in the world). The country takes first place for species of fish (2,145 species) and butterflies (4,000) and, uniquely, more than 4,000 species of potato are also found in this amazing country.
On August 28, 2026, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite acquired this true-color image of a portion of Peru.
In the lower left (southwest) portion of the image ocean fog can be seen creeping over a portion of the Pacific coast. The foggy coast quickly gives way to steep, rugged, and sparsely vegetated peaks of the Andes mountains. In the east the mountains give way to hills and then flatten to house the thick rainforest of the Amazon. The Huallaga River (north) and the Ucayali River (south) rise from the Andes and twist generally northeast across northern Peru. The water that forms the Ucayali River flows, through smaller rivers, from high in the Andes. The Ucayali River is the main headstream of the Amazon River.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Terra
Date Acquired: 8/28/2026
Resolutions:
1km (195.5 KB), 500m (529.5 KB), 250m (317.7 KB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
