
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - What appears to be an extraterrestrial landscape is in reality cracked mud on the outskirts of a marshy area on the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. The hot daytime temperatures in Florida at this time of the year help create the phenomenon. The refuge was established in 1963 on Kennedy Space Center land and water not used by NASA for the space program. It encompasses 92,000 acres that are a habitat for more than 331 species of birds, 31 mammals, 117 fishes, and 65 amphibians and reptiles.
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NASA ID
05pd1014
Date Created
May 17, 2005
Center
KSC
Media Type
image
Photographer
NASA or National Aeronautics and Space Administration
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Large
1920px
Nature Photography - Vultures
Jan 30, 2017
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- An alligator is spotted sunning on the muddy bank of a canal in KSC. Nearly 5,000 alligators can be found in canals, ponds, and waterways throughout the Center and the surrounding Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. American alligators feed and rest in the water, and lay their eggs in dens they dig into the banks. The young alligators spend their first several weeks in these dens. The Wildlife Refuge encompasses 92,000 acres that are a habitat for more than 331 species of birds, 31 mammals, 117 fishes, and 65 amphibians and reptiles.
Jan 8, 2004
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- An alligator is spotted sunning on the muddy bank of a canal in KSC. Nearly 5,000 alligators can be found in canals, ponds, and waterways throughout the Center and the surrounding Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. American alligators feed and rest in the water, and lay their eggs in dens they dig into the banks. The young alligators spend their first several weeks in these dens. The Wildlife Refuge encompasses 92,000 acres that are a habitat for more than 331 species of birds, 31 mammals, 117 fishes, and 65 amphibians and reptiles.
Jan 8, 2004
KSC-05pd-1015
May 17, 2005