Acquired December 15, 2009, this true-color image shows Avignon, France, immediately east of the Rhône River. Walls surround the city’s historic center. Industrial-style buildings predominate in the southwest and southeast.
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.
Astronauts have the best view of the city’s well-known “swept wing” city layout, which takes the form of a flying bird that is expressed in the curves of the boulevards. The stadium sits between the wings.
Mongolia’s capital city of Ulaanbaatar occupies a valley along the Tuul River. Roughly 1,350 meters above sea level, and over 47 degrees north of the Equator, the city rests atop a sporadic permafrost zone, and ranks among the world’s coldest national capitals.
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”.
Acquired March 6, 2001, this false-color image shows Tombouctou (Timbuktu) and the surrounding region. Vegetation is red, water is blue, human-built structures are brown-gray, and bare ground ranges in color from off-white to tan.