Earth observations taken during the STS-59 mission

STS059-225-072 (9-20 April 1994) --- Orient with the tuning fork away from the viewer (sunglint is always south of the spacecraft at this latitude). Then the South Fork (left) and North Fork (right) of the Shenandoah meet in the foreground; Front Royal, Virginia is just to the left of the combined rivers at the junction. Massanutten Mountain, covered by reddish-brown fallen leaves of the George Washington National Forest, separates the river forks. The mountain, and other elements of the Appalachian Mountains in this scene, were formed from folded sedimentary rocks that later were eroded into their present shapes; resistant rocks, such as sandstone, form the high ground while shale and limestone form the valleys. Hasselblad photograph.