SPACEPHOTOS

Madrid Area, Spain August 1997 The location of Madrid, the capital of Spain, is barely discernible (slightly above and right of center) on this low resolution, southeast view of one of Spain’s many interior alluvial basins. The city is located in the center of a highland plateau that is rimmed by mountains, known as the Meseta Central. The Jarana River and its cultivated floodplain (dark swath across top of the image) make an abrupt course change approximately 13 miles (22 km) southeast of Madrid. Runways (light-colored, linear features) of two of Madrid’s airports, including the intersecting runways of Barajas Airport, are visible east, northeast of the city. Two paralleling, southeasterly draining stream channels (Manzanares River and Guadaliz River) can be traced across this semi-arid landscape (towards center of the image). These intermittently flowing streams have their origins in the Sistema Central Mountains (dark area along bottom of picture). Several reservoirs (irregular-shaped, dark features) are observed along the southeastern slopes of the Sistema Central Mountains. The whitish-looking border around two of the reservoirs depict an exposed shoreline caused by low water levels in the lakes. The subdued colors displayed in this image are indicative the arid conditions that exist in this elevated massif of central Spain. Most of the rural terrain is used for sheep grazing (pastoral economy) or the growing of wheat and barely.