SPACEPHOTOS

The greater Harrisburg area is shown in this near-vertical photograph. Major physical features include a small section of the folded Appalachian Mountains with the paralleling ridge and valley pattern, the southward-flowing Susquehanna River, the rolling hills and fertile valleys surrounding the capital city, and water gaps created by the Susquehanna River as it cuts through the mountains north of Harrisburg. Several manmade features appear in this fairly detailed photograph of the Cumberland Valley (west of the Susquehanna River) and Dauphin County (east of the Susquehanna River). Visible are some highway bridges that cross the Susquehanna River and connect Harrisburg with towns on the west shore (Enola, New Cumberland, Camp Hill, and Mechanicsburg). Famous Three Mile Island in the Susquehanna River can be seen south of Harrisburg International Airport (formerly Olmsted Air Force Base). An extensive ground transportation network, including Interstate Highways 81 and 83 and the Pennsylvania Turnpike, traverses the region, linking the large east coast population with that of the midwest and southwest states. The large white block west-northwest of Harrisburg is the U.S. Navy storage depot near Mechanicsburg. Chocolate Town-USA (Hershey, Pennsylvania) is barely recognizable 12 miles (19 kilometers) east of Harrisburg as one in a string of towns. Cultivated fields of crops used primarily for beef cattle and dairy cattle feed dominate the rural scene.