SPACEPHOTOS

Akimiski Island, Northwest Territory, Canada August 1997 Akimiski Island, a 2000-square-mile (5180 square kilometers) uninhabited island, is the largest island in James Bay (a southeasterly extension of Hudson Bay). The surface of the island is flat and slopes gradually to the north. Most of the vegetation that covers the island consists of lichens, moss, sage grasses, and dwarf black spruce trees. The eastern half of the island is a migratory bird sanctuary. The island is a coastal wetland that includes mud flats, tidal marshes, and tidal mud flats. Fresh-water streams that flow into southwestern James Bay carry sediments and abundant nutrients that help to sustain the productive waterfowl habitat around Akimiski Island. Lighter areas above the center of the view are sediment-laden brackish waters along the bayshore and south coast of the island. North and South Twin Islands are near the bottom of the picture.