Where on Earth...? MISR Mystery Image Quiz #8
05/15/2002
Here's another chance to play geographical detective! This Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) image covers an area measuring approximately 297 kilometers x 221 kilometers, and was captured by the instrument's vertical-viewing (nadir) camera on April 12, 2001.
A large river flows from the left side of the image, below center, and traverses the image, angling northeast toward the upper right. It then makes a hairpin turn and continues to flow in a generally southward direction near the right-hand side of the image.
Below are eight statements about this river, only some of which are true. Use any reference materials you like, and mark each statement true or false:
1. Within the image area, the river flows across an international boundary into an area where over 100 species of orchids grow.
2. The river's name in a particular language means "pacifier" in English.
3. Sedimentary rocks containing mineral grains that record changes in the orientation of Earth's magnetic field have been found north of the river.
4. At least one expert kayaker has perished attempting to navigate a deep gorge of the river.
5. The two highest named peaks within the image area are situated on opposite sides of the river; each has a maximum elevation of nearly 4000 meters.
6. The description of a mythical place in a 1930's British novel is thought by some explorers to have been inspired by a location on this river.
7. Scientists believe that 100 million years ago the region through which the river flows was farther from the equator than it is today.
8. In the 1920's, an expedition along the river searched for and successfully encountered a legendary 30-meter-high waterfall.
MISR was built and is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, for NASA's Office of Earth Science, Washington, DC. The Terra satellite is managed by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology.
Quiz Rules
Send us your answers, name (initials are acceptable if you prefer), and your hometown by the
quiz deadline of Tuesday, May 21, 2002, using the
Quiz answer form. Answers will be published on the MISR web site. The names and home towns of respondents who answer all questions correctly by the deadline will also be published in the order responses were received. The first 3 people on this list who are not affiliated with NASA, JPL, or MISR and who have not previously won a prize will be sent a print of the image.
A new "Where on Earth...?" mystery will appear quarterly. The image also appears on the following NASA websites:
NASA Earth Portal,
NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory,
NASA Climate Change,
NASA Earth Observatory and the
Atmospheric Sciences Data Center, though typically with a several-hour delay.
Credit: Image credit: NASA/GSFC/LaRC/JPL, MISR Team.
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