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Canada Centre for Remote Sensing
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Liard River Valley, Yukon

Larger, more detailed
image here: 55kb jpg
In this Landsat satellite image, many features are
recognizable by colour, shape and texture. The blue river, the Liard, winds across the
image, suggesting that there is very little change in elevation.
Near the river are oxbow lakes and old meander scars. The green areas are
forest, the variations often relating to tree species. Forest clear cuts show up as pink areas along
the river. A forest fire burn scar
(reddish pink patch at the top) is also visible. Roads and trails
show up as white and pink lines while a small airport by the lake in the bottom right corner looks
like a pink and purple "X". Borrow
pits used for construction purposes show up very clearly in
this type of terrain.
Question: Why is the river a different colour than the
lakes?
[
Answer ]
About this Image
| Location: |
Liard River Valley,
Yukon |
| NTS
map(s): |
105A2, 105A3
(1:50,000) |
Location Map:  |
See a detailed map (1:1M) of the
region |
| Image Date: |
June 3, 1985 |
| Satellites/Sensors: |
Landsat Thematic Mapper
(TM), Bands 5,4,3 (as R,G,B) |
| Resolution: |
30 m pixels |
| Image Area: |
18km by 14km |
| Image Features: |
Meandering river, oxbow
lakes, oxbow/meander scars, airport, forest fire scar,
clear cut, gravel road, borrow pit, clear lake. |
| Related Tour Images: |
Whiteshell Provincial Park,
Manitoba; Treppasey,
Newfoundland |
| Related Glossary
Terms: |
These terms from the CCRS Glossary may help you to
understand this image and its interpretation:
additive
colour, brightness,
false
colour, multispectral
scanner, image
texture, tone
|
| Related Tutorial
Sections: |
These sections of the "Fundamentals of Remote Sensing"
tutorial
by CCRS will help you to better understand this image
and its interpretation:
1.5 1.7 4.2 4.5 5.3 5.7
|
| Image Credits: |
Received by the Canada
Centre for Remote Sensing
Processed by RADARSAT International Inc. |
|
Additional
Information: |
As in many areas of the Yukon,
this region has a great deal of prime moose and caribou
habitat. The Yukon Renewable Resource Department used this
image to stratify the habitat and caribou foraging areas. |
| Question: |
Why is the river a different
colour than the lakes? |
| Answer: |
- The moving water of a river carries more sediment than
the still water of the lakes. The sediment content results
in the brighter colour.
- The river carries more sediment in suspension, creating
increased reflectance, especially in the lower wavelength
bands. TM band 3, here represented as blue, has the best
water penetration of the 3 bands used in this image.
|
http://ccrs.nrcan.gc.ca/resource/tour/01/index_e.php