SPACEPHOTOS

The sparsely populated southwest coast of Western Australia is visible in this synoptic view that extends from Bremer Bay (bottom ) to Stokes Inlet (barely visible top ). The coastal city of Hopetoun (not identifiable on this image) which served in the past as a major port city for the gold and copper mining industry, is located midway between the top and bottom of the image, just to the east of Culham Inlet (small dark feature on the coast). A series of light colored, dry lakes, including Lakes Tay and Hope, are visible within the natural vegetation (darker area) in the upper left corner of the scene. Vermin proof fences produce dramatic, sharp color changes between the natural and forested landscapes (darker) versus the lighter colored range lands and agricultural fields. The sun’s reflection off the water surface (sunglint) obscures water surface information along the coast (top right), but windstreaks suggest that winds are blowing directly offshore.