Fires on Cape York Peninsula

Fires on Cape York Peninsula

Several large fires were burning across the tropical savannas of the Cape York Peninsula on November 5, 2005, when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite passed overhead. The red outlines enclose areas where MODIS detected actively burning fires. The burned ground stands out in deep brown against the olive-tan savanna landscape. Both human-caused (for land management) and naturally occurring fires are common to the Cape York Peninsula.

The high-resolution image provided above has a spatial resolution of 250 meters per pixel. The MODIS Rapid Response Team provides this image at additional resolutions.

NASA image courtesy the MODIS Rapid Response Team,Goddard Space Flight Center