Dust plumes mingled with clouds in southeastern Idaho in early September 2010. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite captured this natural-color image on September 5, 2010. Midway between Craters of the Moon National Monument and Idaho Falls, but slightly north of both, the dust plumes arise from two clusters of source points. The southern cluster gives rise to a larger plume, which blows toward the northeast and mingles with clouds. The clouds could be associated with the same weather pattern that stirred the dust.
Craters of the Moon and another lava field immediately west of Idaho Falls form dark, uneven shapes on the mostly light brown land surface. Around the lava fields and around the dust plumes, however, a patchwork of green and tan indicates agricultural fields.
References & Resources
NASA image courtesy MODIS Rapid Response Team , NASA-Goddard Space Flight Center. Caption by Michon Scott.
