SPACEPHOTOS

The central and upper Texas Gulf Coast from San Antonio Bay on the southwest to beyond Galveston Bay on the northeast can be seen in this north-looking, low-oblique photograph. The city of Houston, with its major highways radiating outward in all directions, is visible to the right of center of the photograph. The highly reflective areas east of the city are industrial complexes along the ship channel. The dark forested areas of the East Texas Piney Woods can be seen to the north and northeast of Houston, along with numerous lakes, including, from west to east, Lake Conroe, Lake Livingston, Lake Sam Rayburn, and Toledo Bend Reservoir. The lighter area to the northeast of the reservoir is the Red River Valley in western Louisiana. Galveston Bay and Trinity Bay can be seen east of Houston. There are numerous agricultural fields west and southwest of Houston, and south-southwest of the agricultural areas are Matagorda Bay and San Antonio Bay. Northwest of Houston, near Bryan and College Station can be seen the light brownish Brazos River Valley; and between the two rivers is Lake Somerville. Beyond this lake a faint green band roughly parallel to the coast delineates the Carrizo Sandstone Unit. This iron-rich sandstone is distinctive because, in this sandy soil, pine trees thrive and grow in abundance.