iss008e14686

ISS008-E-14686 (7 February 2004) --- This image featuring southern Spain was photographed by an Expedition 8 crewmember on the International Space Station (ISS). Over the past 50 years, the small coastal plain (campo), some 30 kilometers southwest of the city of Almeria, has been intensively developed for agriculture. The area has a dry mild, Mediterranean climate and is further sheltered on the north by the Sierra de Gador. Note the dense, bright pattern of thousands of greenhouses extending from the shoreline right up to the base of the mountains and even into some of the smaller valleys. Saltpan operations can also be seen in the long coastal lagoons.