Forests are being harvested near Tokoroa, New Zealand, which has been described as the hub of New Zealand's forestry industry. The large tan areas are cleared forests. According to an Earth Observatory reader, the land use pattern that looks like tan beads on a string are clearings used to stock timber before it is sent to pulp and paper mills about 4 km south of Tokoroa. The light green areas around the town are dairy farms.
Image STS110-726-10 was taken by space shuttle crewmembers in April 2002 using a Hasselblad film camera. Image provided by the Earth Sciences and Image Analysis Laboratory at Johnson Space Center. Additional images taken by astronauts and cosmonauts can be viewed at the NASA-JSC Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth.
