Fraser River Valley, British Columbia, Canada August 1997 The Fraser River Valley and its extensive delta (light colored feature) can be observed near the center of the image. A light colored sediment plume can be observed west of Vancouver where the Fraser River empties into the Strait of Georgia (center of picture). The Strait of Georgia separates Vancouver Island from the mainland of British Columbia (Canada). The Juan De Fuca Strait is the other major strait that connects Pudget Sound (U.S.) and the Strait of Georgia with the partially cloud-covered Pacific Ocean (top). Extensive forested slopes and snow covered higher elevations of the Coast Mountains in British Columbia and the northern Cascades in the state of Washington occupy about a third of the picture. There are also limited snow covered peaks in the Olympic Mountains of northwest Washington (top left) and on the central mountains of Vancouver Island, B. C. (top right). A section of the Space Shuttle robotic arm crosses the top of the image