Earth Observations taken by Expedition 26 Crewmember

ISS026-E-018177 (16 Jan. 2011) --- From approximately 220 miles above Earth, one of the Expedition 26 crew members aboard the International Space Station took this photo of the Manicouagan Crater in northern Canada (Quebec), one of the oldest impact craters known. According to scientists, the feature was formed about 200 million years ago. The present day terrain supports a hydroelectric reservoir in the telltale form of an annular lake. The crater itself, say scientists, has been worn away by the passing of glaciers and other erosional processes. Still, the hard rock at the impact site has preserved much of the complex impact structure and so allows scientists a leading case to help understand large impact features on Earth and other solar system bodies.