Satellite Image Interpretation Page 3 of 5 Image 2 Image courtesy of the Canada Centre for Remote Sensing, Natural Resources Canada. Agricultural fields (A) can be identified by their shape and colour, with the straight edges typically representing agricultural fields, while the more irregular shapes represent natural features. The pink and purple fields probably represent bare soil; especially as the image was taken in October and the majority of the crops would have been harvested. Whereas, the yellow fields indicate areas where vegetation is still present, possibly representing a winter crop or uncut hay. Within the image power lines (B) can be seen travelling straight across the landscape, taking only a few sudden and sharp changes in direction. Power line corridors are also identified by their colour, which is typically pink (non-vegetated areas) or yellow (grassed areas), therefore distinguishable from a road system, which are usually bluish in tone. Steep sided stream valleys (C) can be identified in the image by the shadows that they cast, each of which creates an impression of a profile view of the valley. The low sun angle experienced at the time the image was taken, November, has helped to highlight such topographic variations and is therefore a useful aid to assist the identification of certain geologic features. A further geological structure that can be identified is the series of obvious concentric ovals, located towards the centre of the satellite image (surrounded by black arrows). Folding of the underlying sedimentary rocks is the most likely reason for the formation of this feature. Now have a go at the following satellite interpretation exercise of a mountainous region. How many questions can you answer correctly? | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Page 3 of 5