SPACEPHOTOS

The small rural town of Fillmore, Utah (estimated population of 1500), can be identified by the grid street pattern near the northern edge of the photograph. The snowcapped Pavant Mountains (also part of Fish Lake National Forest) are east of Fillmore where Jack’s Peak reaches a maximum elevation of just over 10 000 feet (3070 meters) above sea level. Immediately west of Fillmore is the Black Desert, apparently named for the dark lava flows that cover it. Although the area receives an average of less than 10 inches (25 centimeters) of precipitation annually, classifying it as a desert, some irrigated agriculture is carried out, as indicated by the cultivated field patterns west and southwest of Fillmore. The narrow, linear feature that traverses southwest-northeast is Interstate Highway 15, which provides ground linkage between the Provo-Salt Lake City area and Las Vegas, Nevada.