The urban landscape of Sevastopol, on the Ukrainian coast of the Black Sea, is featured in this astronaut photo from August 5, 2009.
Published Aug 24, 2009
This metropolis of 15 million people occupies both sides of the entrance to the narrow, 20-mile long Bosporus Strait connecting the Mediterranean and Sea of Marmara (south) to the Black Sea (north). From its founding as Byzantium by the Greeks in 600 B.C., this strategically located city has been a focus of maritime trade and commerce as well as an outpost and threshold for cultural exchange and conflict between Europe and Asia. This digital camera image was taken by the crew of the International Space Station on April 16, 2004. When this image was taken, strong currents carried turbid coastal waters from the Black Sea through the Strait and into the Sea of Marmara.
Published May 10, 2004
This “Gateway to Mecca” stands along the Red Sea coast of Saudi Arabia.
Published Nov 27, 2017
Buenos Aires is one of the larger cities seen by orbiting crews. Twelve million people, almost one third of all Argentines, live in this city, often called the “Paris of the South”.
Published Mar 16, 2003
The compact Italian city of Venice with its renowned canals is situated on a small, fish-shaped island in the Laguna Veneta at the northwest corner of the Adriatic Sea. In this photo taken from the International Space Station by the Expedition 1 Crew on February 21, 2001, one can see part of the causeway connecting the city to the mainland. The sinuous Canal Grande bisecting the city is easily visible in this scene as is the larger Canal Giudecca to the west, which leads to the port facilities on the northwestern end of the island. For centuries, the low-lying city has successfully coped with the three-foot tidal range experienced at this end of the Adriatic Sea, and the series of barrier islands has offered some protection from storm waves. However, a combination of both regional land subsidence and recent slight rises in sea level pose a significant threat this historic city and its priceless art treasures.
Published Jul 8, 2001
The distinctive, hexagon-shaped Trajanic Basin marks the spot of one of the Roman Empire’s great engineering achievement.
Published Mar 15, 2015
This cloud-free, Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS) image of the Black Sea on June 9, 2003, reveals the colorful interplay of currents on the lake’s surface. The green crescent-shaped pattern in the northwestern corner of the Black Sea is due to the nutrient-rich, sediment-laden discharge of the Danube River stimulating biological activity. The brighter, more turquoise patterns on the lake to the south and east are probably blooms of another type of phytoplankton.
Published Jun 10, 2003
Rome holds about 2.7 million people and rests 12 miles inland from the Mediterranean Sea halfway down Italy’s west coast. In the above image, the city appears as a grayish mass.
Published Nov 15, 2002
Acquired January 8, 2010, this true-color image shows part of Karachi, Pakistan, a city of over 12 million residents. Heavily urbanized areas mix with rivers and mangroves, especially near the Port of Karachi.
Published Feb 5, 2010
The city of Jeddah is the second largest city in Saudi Arabia (after Riyadh), and is the country’s most important Red Sea port. This astronaut photograph depicts the downtown district of Al Balad, a residential area historically (and presently) occupied by wealthy merchants.
Published Jul 18, 2005
