Gemini Earth Photographs

Geology

JPEG image (102K)	The world's second highest mountain, Mt. Godwin-Austen (K-2) in the Karakoram Range, is seen in a northerly view that looks across parts of India, Pakistan, and China. Godwin-Austen (8,611 meters) is near the upper left margin. The Indus River flows in deep gorges at the left of the photograph. The deep gorge starting in a series of glaciers near Mt. Godwin-Austen and coming down the center of the photo is Syhok fork of the Indus. The mountains terminate at the upper right with the hazy Takla Makan Basin of China beyond. This overview of a largely unexplored region helps geologists better understand our restless Earth. (S65-45648; Gemini V.)
JPEG image (67K)	The geologic structure of the Earth controls the course of the Egyptian Nile for some 250 kilometers as the river flows along the contact between sedimentary (light) and basalt (dark) rocks. Note that one does not see a major tributary to the river in the entire 450 kilometers between the Tropic of Cancer (upper) and Wadi Halfa, Sudan, at the second cataract (lower). Today's astronaut would see man's largest creation, Lake Nasser, if he looked down from this vantage point. (S65-34780; Gemini IV.)
JPEG image (43K)	Parallel ridges of sand extend for hundreds of kilometers across the interior of Arabia in an area called Rub-al-Khali (The Empty Quarter). Well named! Seif dunes, as they are called, are rarely found. The long ridges are parallel to the prevailing winds instead of transverse, like most dunes. The photograph covers tens of thousands of square kilometers of area, but nowhere does one see any signs of life. (S65-34765; Gemini IV.)
JPEG image (58K)	The Peru peaks of the snow-covered Cordillera Blanca (upper right) reach nearly 6,800 meters in elevation, yet they are but 100 kilometers from the Pacific Ocean. Earthquakes occur with great frequency, resulting in massive loss of life and property. On the second snow-covered mountain from the right (Huascaran, Peru's highest peak) is the thin scar from a May 1962 earthquake-caused avalanche which cost 6,000 deaths. (S66-38298; Gemini IX.)
JPEG image (72K)	The complex geology of the poorly explored portion of Saudi Arabia known as the Hejaz, north of the Islamic holy city of Medina, is clearly seen. Geologic forms such as lava fields and flows, intrusive and extrusive basalts, extensive faulting, volcanos, playa lakes, as well as dendritic and trellis drainage, can be delineated. (S65-34665; Gemini IV.)
JPEG image (58K)	The sands of the Arabian Peninsula contrast with the deep blue of the Gulf of Oman and Arabian Sea at Ras al Hadd. In the lower left, seif dunes form long parallel sand ridges in the Rub-al-Khali (Empty Quarter) of Muscat and Oman. The sharp ridges of the Al Akhdar mountains are to the upper left. (S65-34661; Gemini IV.)
JPEG image (43K)	A large portion of the eastern Sahara is seen during one of the two "high apogee" revolutions of Gemini XI. The view is to the eastward looking across portions of Algeria, Niger, Chad, and most of Libya. The dark area behind the Agena S-band antenna is the Tassili-n-Ajjer Mountains. The "sand sea" Idehan Ubari (upper left) is separated from the circular "sand sea" Idehan Murzuq (right center) by the escarpments of the darker Hamadet Muhzuq. Beyond (upper right center) are the Haruj al Aswad (Black Haraj) volcanics. The dark area on the right margin is the volcanic Tibesti Mountains. Synoptic views of this type are of great value in studies of regional geology and tectonics. (S66-54525; Gemini XI.)
JPEG image (61K)	The dark domelike volcanics of Niger's Air-Au-Azbine Mountains contrast sharply with the buff-colored sands of the Tenere Sahara. A close look at the mountains show a very complex system of dikes, faults, and structural development. (S65-63158; Gemini VI.)
JPEG image (65K)	The great Sahara dominates North Africa and divides it into areas of barren mountains, plateaus, and sand deserts. An Algerian intermountain valley traps the sand and desert winds whip it up into 600-meter-high hills called the Tifernine Dunes. The location is some 150 kilometers south of Fort Flatters. Gemini photography covered most of the Sahara and was used to chart routes for exploration, locate routes for pipelines and roads, locate oases, discover mineral wealth, and better understand the climatic conditions. (S65-63829; Gemini VII.)
JPEG image (29K)	Baja California stretches over 1,200 kilometers southeastward to Cabo de Sam Lucas. This view shows the lower 200 kilometers of the peninsula. Faults stand out in the Sierra de Sam Lazaro (dark area). The developing tourist city of La Paz is on the bay at the upper edge. (S65-45586; Gemini V.)
JPEG image (55K)	Biblical and Near East students find much of value in this photograph. Sinai is at the center, Arabia to the right, Palestine and the Levant to the upper left, and Mesopotamia to the upper right. One can trace the route of Abraham to Israel and clearly see Judea, Galilee, and Samaria. The River Jordan connects the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea, all in a straight line along a great rift in the Earth's crust. Mount Sinai (Gebel Musa) is seen in the Sinai. Portions of the Hejaz pilgrimage route that Moslems have used for nearly 1,400 years can be seen between Damascus and Mecca. The black cloud in the upper right is the result of a fire caused by destruction on the Trans Arabian pipeline. We see the fire and smoke from over 1,000 kilometers distance. (S66-54893; Gemini XI.)