Two contrasting landscapes are evident in this synoptic, northeast-looking photograph of the Mississippi River Valley that covers northwest Tennessee, the southeast panhandle of southeast Missouri, and northeast Arkansas—the darker, vegetated forests mark the eastern extent of the Mississippi River floodplain, and the lighter field patterns mark the floodplain west of the Mississippi. Apparent are the dark, curving Hatchie River to the south (bottom right); very dark Reelfoot Lake (top center) on the east side of the Mississippi River; a thin manmade canal on the intensively cultivated west side of the river floodplain that extends northeastward from a wooded lake west of Blytheville; and white sandbars in the main channel of the Mississippi River. The light airport runway denotes Blytheville, Arkansas (slightly below and left of center).