The Port of Suez is
located in Egypt along the northern coastline of the Gulf of Suez. The
port and city mark the southern terminus of the
Suez Canal,
which runs north-south through Egypt from the Mediterranean Sea to the
Gulf of Suez. The port serves vessels transporting general cargo, oil
tankers, and both commercial and private passenger vessels. The port is
also an important waypoint for Muslim pilgrims traveling to and from
Mecca in Saudi Arabia. Several large vessels are visible in the Gulf of
Suez and at various docks around the port.
An extensive petroleum refinery complex forms the southern coastal
boundary of the Port of Suez. At the time this astronaut photograph was
acquired, a smoke plume extended southwards into the Gulf of
Suez—probably from a facility burning off gaseous byproducts of
petroleum processing. Greenish blue regions offshore in the Gulf are
most likely sediments stirred up by passage of ships. Similarly colored
regions along the coastline are bottom sediments visible through the
clear, shallow water.
Astronaut photograph
ISS016-E-19375
was acquired on December 30, 2007 with a Kodak 760C digital camera
fitted with an 800 mm lens, and is provided by the ISS Crew Earth
Observations experiment. The image was taken by the
Expedition 16 crew,
and is provided by the Image Science & Analysis Laboratory, Johnson
Space Center. The image in this article has been cropped and enhanced
to improve contrast. Lens artifacts have been removed. The
International Space Station Program
supports the laboratory to help astronauts take pictures of Earth that
will be of the greatest value to scientists and the public, and to make
those images freely available on the Internet. Additional images taken
by astronauts and cosmonauts can be viewed at the NASA/JSC
Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth. Caption by William L. Stefanov, NASA-JSC.
- Instrument(s):
- ISS - Digital Camera = NASA
