SPACEPHOTOS

This true-color image from June 1, 2001, of central Argentina shows the La Pampa region at the top of the image, the snow-covered Andes Mountains along the upper left, and the Rio Negro region at the bottom. Throughout the top center of the image, a pattern of square and rectangular shapes suggests land that is being used for cultivation and development. Thin, straight lines indicate the presence of roads. The Rio Negro, running west-east roughly a third of the way up from the bottom, empties into the Atlantic Ocean just to he north of the Gulf of San Matias. Large amounts of sediment are washing into the ocean at Bahia Blanca, to the north.