OBSERVATION / 016

A reef around a mountain.

True-color satellite view of Maupiti, with a mountainous central island, blue lagoon, pale encircling reef, and surrounding dark Pacific.

NASA Earth Observatory / Robert Simmon · NASA EO-1 Team

Location: Maupiti Island / French Polynesia
Image acquired: August 8, 2009
Platform / instrument: Earth Observing-1 / ALI
Image type: True-color satellite image

Field notes

A high central island sits inside a blue lagoon and a pale ring of reef. Maupiti, west of Bora Bora in French Polynesia, spans less than ten kilometers in this August 2009 view.

Low fringing islands trace the lagoon’s edge while the central island rises high enough to cast a distinct shadow. On the northeastern rim, a small airport runway makes a straight line across the vegetation and reef. The scene brings volcanic relief, coral growth, and human infrastructure into one frame.

Read NASA’s full account ↗

This is dated source imagery. The homepage overlay is a graphic treatment, not a georeferenced measurement.