Sicily and Southern Italy

Credit: MODIS team; NASA, Posted on: Tuesday, 29 March 2005, 06:59 CST Download full size image

The Terra MODIS instrument captured this true-color image of Sicily and the southern end of Italy on March 17, 2005. Surrounded by the deep blue waters of the Mediterranean Sea, both landmasses are an early spring green, though still capped with snow on their higher mountain peaks. The largest spot of snow on Sicily covers Mt. Etna, a volcano that's been erupting for over half a million years. While not as active as Mt. Kilauea, it is one of the world's largest and most-studied volcanoes. On the mainland, snow covers the higher peaks of the Appenine mountains, which run north to eventually join the Alps. This range is considered to be Italy's backbone, and is generally green and forested.

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