SPACEPHOTOS

Eastern Hokkaido Island, Japan October 1994. A synoptic view of the eastern end of Hokkaido Island presents a diverse landscape of plains, drainage patterns, river valleys, lakes, peninsulas, and volcanic mountains. The features include the intensively cultivated Tokachi Plains (lower left) and the broad floodplains of the Obihiro and Tokachi Rivers (lighter-colored swaths bottom center); a northeast-southwest aligned belt of volcanic mountains (dark region extending vertically through the center of the image) with water filled calderas (dark features)- Lake Kutcharoko is the lighter lake and Lake Mashuko the smaller; an extensive gridded pattern near the eastern end of the island that is related to the forestry industry; and several coastal features that include peninsulas, estuaries, bays (Akkeshi Bay- middle right) and a sand spit along the east coast that extends into Nemuro Strait. A section of the Ishikari range of volcanic mountains (darker area left center) parallels the northwest margin of the Tokachi River Basin. The dark areas show regions of dense vegetative cover, mainly forested lands