Los Angeles, California as seen from STS-59

STS059-227-050 (9-20 April 1994) --- A low altitude, and unusually clear air, provided perhaps the most detailed view of Los Angeles, California ever obtained during a shuttle flight. Orient with the bulk of the ocean to the lower left. Then Long Beach is in the lower right, just east of the Palos Verdes Hills that extend into the Pacific Ocean. Marina del Rey is cut into the straight segment of beach, with Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) clearly visible to the southeast. Downtown Los Angeles is the light-toned sprawl in the upper right, with the rectangular grid pattern of Pasadena extending out of the picture. The Santa Monica Mountains to the upper left extend east-west, separating the San Fernando Valley (epicenter of the 1993 earthquake) from the Los Angeles Basin proper. It is impossible to determine by photo interpretation whether or not the de-vegetated scars along the southern edge of the mountains represent man-made features (real-estate development) or wildfires.