Honolulu, on the island of Oahu, is a large and growing urban area. This stereoscopic image pair, combining a Landsat image with topography measured by NASA Shuttle Radar Topography Mission SRTM, shows how topography controls the urban pattern.

This stereoscopic satellite image showing Miquelon and Saint Pierre Islands, located south of Newfoundland, Canada, was generated by draping NASA Landsat satellite image over a preliminary Shuttle Radar Topography Mission SRTM elevation model.

On January 26, 2001, the city of Bhuj suffered the most deadly earthquake in India history. This stereoscopic image was generated from NASA Landsat satellite and data from Shuttle Radar Topography Mission SRTM.

This perspective view shows the city of Bhuj, India, in the foreground gray area after an earthquake in western India on January 26, 2001. This image was generated from NASA Landsat satellite and data from Shuttle Radar Topography Mission SRTM.

After draining the northern flank of the Alps Mountains in Germany and Austria, the Danube River flows east as it enters this west-looking scene (upper right) and forms the border between Slovakia and Hungary. The river then leaves the border as it enters Hungary and transects the Transdanubian Mountains, which trend southwest to northeast. Upon exiting the mountains, the river turns southward, flowing past Budapest (purplish blue area) and along the western margin of the Great Hungarian Plain. South and west of the Danube, the Transdanubian Mountains have at most only about 400 meters (about 1300 feet) of relief but they exhibit varied landforms, which include volcanic, tectonic, fluvial (river), and eolian (wind) features. A thick deposit of loess (dust deposits likely blown from ancient glacial outwash) covers much of this area, and winds from the northwest, funneled between the Alps and the Carpathian Mountains, are apparently responsible for a radial pattern of erosional streaks across the entire region. This image was generated from a Landsat satellite image draped over an elevation model produced by the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM). The view uses a 3-times vertical exaggeration to enhance topographic expression. The false colors of the scene result from displaying Landsat bands 1, 4, and 7 in blue, green, and red, respectively. Band 1 is visible blue light, but bands 4 and 7 are reflected infrared light. This band combination maximizes color contrasts between the major land cover types, namely vegetation (green), bare ground (red), and water (blue). Shading of the elevation model was used to further highlight the topographic features. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA04952

The prominent linear feature straight down the center of this perspective view is the San Andreas Fault in an image created with data from NASA shuttle Radar Topography Mission SRTM.

The volcanic nature of Mount Shasta is clearly evident in this computer-generated perspective viewed from the northwest.

Most of the population of Utah lives just west of the Wasatch Mountains in the north central part of the state.

Los Angeles, Calif., is one of the world largest metropolitan areas with a population of about 15 million people. The urban areas mostly cover the coastal plains and lie within the inland valleys.

Mount San Antonio more commonly known as Mount Baldy crowns the San Gabriel Mountains northeast of Los Angeles, Calif., in this anaglyph from NASA Shuttle Radar Topography Mission. 3D glasses are necessary to view this image.

This 3-D anaglyph shows an area on the western side of the volcanically active Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia as seen by the instrument onboard NASA Shuttle Radar Topography Mission. 3D glasses are necessary to view this image.

Rectangular fields of the agriculturally rich Santa Clara River Valley are visible in this perspective view generated by using data from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission and an enhanced Landsat image.

The 2002 Winter Olympics are hosted by Salt Lake City at several venues within the city, in nearby cities, and within the adjacent Wasatch Mountains.

The city of Palm Springs nestles at the base of Mount San Jacinto in this computer-generated perspective viewed from the east.

The 1,200-kilometer 800-mile San Andreas is the longest fault in California and one of the longest in North America as seen by NASA Shuttle Radar Topography Mission SRTM on February 16, 2000.

This anaglyph, from NASA Shuttle Radar Topography Mission, is of Lake Palanskoye in northern Kamchatka. 3D glasses are necessary to view this image.

Cape Town and the Cape of Good Hope, South Africa, appear on the left west of this anaglyph from NASA Shuttle Radar Topography Mission. 3D glasses are necessary to view this image.

This anaglyph, from NASA Shuttle Radar Topography Mission, is of Mount St Helens, Washington. 3D glasses are necessary to view this image.

San Joaquin, the name given to the southern portion of California vast Central Valley, as shown in this image acquired by NASA Shuttle Radar Topography Mission SRTM on February 16, 2000.

This anaglyph, from NASA Shuttle Radar Topography Mission, is of Mount Meru, an active volcano located just 70 kilometers 44 miles west of Mount Kilimanjaro. 3D glasses are necessary to view this image.

This anaglyph, from NASA Shuttle Radar Topography Mission, shows complexly eroded volcanic terrain in northern Patagonia, near El Cain, Argentina. 3D glasses are necessary to view this image.

This view of northern Patagonia, at Los Menucos, Argentina shows remnants of relatively young volcanoes built upon an eroded plain of much older and contorted volcanic, granitic, and sedimentary rocks.

Los Angeles and vicinity seen from space, as viewed by NASA Landsat 7 satellite from an altitude of 437 miles on May 4, 2001.

This perspective view acquired by NASA Shuttle Radar Topography Mission SRTM from data collected in the year 2000 shows Lakes Managua and Nicaragua near the Pacific coast of Nicaragua.

The Lake Palanskoye in northern Kamchatka was formed when a large landslide disrupted the drainage pattern, forming a natural dam.

This image is of Mt. Pinos and San Joaquin Valley, California. NASA Shuttle Radar Topography Mission SRTM acquired this data on February 16, 2000.

This image is of Ventura, California, one of this state oldest cities, and Lake Casitas, California. NASA Shuttle Radar Topography Mission SRTM acquired this data on February 16, 2000.

On January 26, 2001 the Kachchh region in western India suffered the most deadly earthquake in India history.

Caliente Range and Cuyama Valley, California, are shown in this image acquired by NASA Shuttle Radar Topography Mission SRTM on February 16, 2000.

Mount San Antonio more commonly known as Mount Baldy crowns the San Gabriel Mountains northeast of Los Angeles in this computer-generated east-northeast perspective viewed from above the Malibu coastline.

From Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River and extending to Long Island, this perspective view shows the varied topography of eastern New York State and parts of Massachusetts, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Rhode Island.

California state capitol, Sacramento, can be seen clustered along the American and Sacramento Rivers in this computer-generated perspective viewed from the west.

In addition to an elevation model of most of Earth landmass, NASA Shuttle Radar Topography Mission will produce C-band radar imagery of the same area.

This elevation anaglyph of Los Angeles and adjacent mountainous terrain was created by NASA Shuttle Radar Topography Mission. 3D glasses are necessary to view this image.

The prominent linear feature straight down the center of this perspective view is California famous San Andreas Fault. The image was created with data from NASA Shuttle Radar Topography Mission SRTM.

This perspective view includes the city of Salalah, the second largest city in Oman. The city is located on the broad, generally bright coastal plain and includes areas of green irrigated crops.

This anaglyph NASA Shuttle Radar Topography Mission, shows the Haro and Kas Hills of the Kachchh region in western India. 3D glasses are necessary to view this image.

This anaglyph, from NASA Shuttle Radar Topography Mission, shows Miquelon and Saint Pierre Islands, located south of Newfoundland, Canada. 3D glasses are necessary to view this image.

Mount Meru is an active volcano located just 70 kilometers 44 mileswest of Mount Kilimanjaro.

This anaglyph, from NASA Shuttle Radar Topography Mission, is of Honolulu, on the island of Oahu .3D glasses are necessary to view this image.

The prominent linear feature straight down the center of this perspective view is the San Andreas Fault. This segment of the fault lies near the city of Palmdale, CA the flat area in the right half of the image about 60 kilometers north of Los Angeles.

Wheeler Ridge and vicinity, California, is a site of major tectonic activity, both historically and over recent geologic time.

This stereoscopic image pair is a perspective view that shows the western part of the city of Pasadena, California, looking north toward the San Gabriel Mountains. Portions of the cities of Altadena and La Canada Flintridge are also shown.

This prominent circular feature, known as the Richat Structure, in the Sahara desert of Mauritania is often noted by astronauts because it forms a conspicuous bull-eye on the otherwise rather featureless expanse of the desert.

The cities of San Francisco and the East Bay are highlighted in this computer-generated perspective viewed from west of the Golden Gate.

Malaspina Glacier in southeastern Alaska is considered the classic example of a piedmont glacier. Piedmont glaciers occur where valley glaciers exit a mountain range onto broad lowlands, are no longer laterally confined, and spread to become wide lobes.

This image of the Santa Barbara, California, region provides a beautiful snapshot of the area rugged mountains and long and varied coastline.

Los Angeles may be the world entertainment capital, but it is a difficult place to locate television and radio antennas. The metropolitan area spreads from the Pacific Ocean to upper and lower deserts, valleys, mountains, canyons and coastal plains.

The Nyiragongo volcano in the Congo erupted on January 17, 2002, and subsequently sent streams of lava into the city of Goma on the north shore of Lake Kivu.

The defining landmarks of San Francisco, its bay and the San Andreas Fault are clearly seen in this computer-generated perspective viewed from the south.

This anaglyph, from NASA Shuttle Radar Topography Mission, shows Meseta de Somuncura, a semi-arid basalt plateau in northern Patagonia. 3D glasses are necessary to view this image.

This anaglyph, from NASA Shuttle Radar Topography Mission, shows the city of Bhuj, India. 3D glasses are necessary to view this image.

The Meseta de Somuncura is a semi-arid basalt plateau in northern Patagonia. This view of the northwestern part of the plateau, near Los Menucos, Argentina, shows numerous depressions where the upper basalt layers are missing or collapsed.

This perspective view shows the capital city of San Jose, Costa Rica, in the right center of the image gray area.

On May 18, 1980, Mount St. Helens catastrophically erupted, causing the worst volcanic disaster in the recorded history of the United States.

This anaglyph, from NASA Shuttle Radar Topography Mission, is of the Nyiragongo volcano in the Congo. 3D glasses are necessary to view this image.

On January 26, 2001, the Kachchh region in western India suffered the most deadly earthquake in India history. Geologists traversed the region looking for ground surface disruptions, that could provide clues to the tectonic processes here.

California Garlock Fault, marking the northwestern boundary of the Mojave Desert, lies at the foot of the mountains, running from the lower right to the top center of this image, which was created with data from NASA shuttle Radar Topography Mission.

This anaglyph NASA Shuttle Radar Topography Mission, shows the city of Bhuj, India. 3D glasses are necessary to view this image.

This anaglyph, from NASA Shuttle Radar Topography Mission, shows rugged terrain between Los Angeles and California central valley. 3D glasses are necessary to view this image.

This three-dimensional perspective view, looking up the Tigil River, acquired by NASA Shuttle Radar Topography Mission SRTM from data collected on February 16, 2000, shows the western side of the volcanically active Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia.

This anaglyph, from NASA Shuttle Radar Topography Mission, is of the coastal area in southernmost Oman; the Arabian Sea is on the right. 3D glasses are necessary to view this image.

This anaglyph, from NASA Shuttle Radar Topography Mission, is of Malaspina Glacier in southeastern Alaska. 3D glasses are necessary to view this image.

This anaglyph, from NASA Shuttle Radar Topography Mission, is of Salt Lake City, Utah. 3D glasses are necessary to view this image.

Santa Barbara, California, is often called America Riviera as seen in this image generated from NASA Shuttle Radar Topography Mission SRTM data on February 16, 2000.

Basalt cliffs along the northwest edge of the Meseta de Somuncura plateau near Sierra Colorada, Argentina show an unusual and striking pattern of erosion.

This anaglyph, from NASA Shuttle Radar Topography Mission, shows basalt cliffs along the northwest edge of the Meseta de Somuncura plateau near Sierra Colorada, Argentina. 3D glasses are necessary to view this image.

St. Thomas, St. John, Tortola, and Virgin Gorda are the four main islands lower left to upper right of this map-view anaglyph of the U.S. Virgin Islands and British Virgin Islands from NASA Shuttle Radar Topography Mission. 3D glasses are necessary.

This anaglyph, from NASA Shuttle Radar Topography Mission, shows Wheeler Ridge and vicinity, California, a site of major tectonic activity. 3D glasses are necessary to view this image.

The prominent circular feature seen here is known as the Richat Structure, in the Sahara desert of Mauritania. This anaglyph is from NASA Shuttle Radar Topography Mission. 3D glasses are necessary to view this image.

This perspective view shows the northern coastal plain of Costa Rica with the Cordillera Central, composed of a number of active and dormant volcanoes, rising in the background.

Southern California dramatic topography plays acritical role in its climate, hydrology, ecology, agriculture, and habitability.

This perspective view taken in February 2000 from NASA Landsat and SRTM shows the Caribbean coastal plain of Costa Rica, with the Cordillera Central rising in the background.

Cape Town and the Cape of Good Hope, South Africa, appear in the foreground of this perspective view generated from a Landsat satellite image and elevation data from NASA Space Shuttle Endeavour.

This view of northern Patagonia, near El Cain, Argentina shows complexly eroded volcanic terrain, with basalt mesas, sinkholes, landslide debris, playas, and relatively few integrated drainage channels.

This anaglyph, from NASA Shuttle Radar Topography Mission, is of Wellington, the capital city of New Zealand, located on the shores of Port Nicholson, a natural harbor. 3D glasses are necessary to view this image.

This 3-D perspective view looks south along the southeast coast of the North Island of New Zealand. The capital city of Wellington is off the right side of the image.

In this image of Manhattan, acquired by NASA Shuttle Radar Topography Mission SRTM on February 12, 2000, the city skyscrapers appear as ghostly white spikes.

The Nyiragongo volcano in the Congo erupted on January 17, 2002, and subsequently sent streams of lava into the city of Goma on the north shore of Lake Kivu.

This dramatic view looks west along the Cucharas River Canyon in Colorado toward the 4,152 meter 13,623 ft high Spanish Peaks, in the foothills of the Sangre De Cristo Mountains.

Digital elevation models DEMs, such as those produced by NASA Shuttle Radar Topography Mission SRTM, allow user-controlled visualization of the Earth landforms that is not possible using satellite imagery alone.

This image shows Miquelon and Saint Pierre Islands, located south of Newfoundland, Canada. These islands, along with five smaller islands, are a self-governing territory of France. North is in the top right corner of the image.

Most of Los Angeles is visible in this computer-generated north-northeast perspective viewed from above the Pacific Ocean.

This perspective view shows the city of Bhuj, India, in the foreground near the right side dark gray area. Bhuj and many other towns and cities nearby were almost completely destroyed by the January 26, 2001, earthquake in western India.

Antelope Valley is bounded by two of the most active faults in California: the Garlock fault, which fronts the distant mountains in this view, and the San Andreas fault, part of which is seen bounding the mountains in the left foreground.

Wellington, the capital city of New Zealand, is located on the shores of Port Nicholson, a natural harbor at the south end of North Island. The city was founded in 1840 by British emigrants and now has a regional population of more than 400,000 residents.

The Meseta de Somuncura is a broad plateau capped by basalt. Near its western edge is evidence of multiple volcanic events and a complex erosion history.

The San Fernando Valley lower right of center is part of Los Angeles and includes well over one million people. Two major disasters have occurred here in the last few decades: the 1971 Sylmar earthquake and the 1994 Northridge earthquake.

The influence of topography on the growth of the city of San Diego is seen clearly in this computer-generated perspective viewed from the south.

This perspective view of upstate New York shows Lake Ontario in the lower left, the Adirondack Mountains in the upper left, and the Catskill Mountains on the right.

This perspective view taken in February 2000 from NASA Landsat and SRTM shows the capital city of San Jose, Costa Rica, the gray area in the center of the image.

In the lower center of this perspective view of upstate New York, the city of Syracuse hugs the southeastern banks top right side of Lake Onondaga, the smaller of the two dark features that dominate the scene.

From Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River and extending to Long Island, this perspective view shows the varied topography of eastern New York State and parts of Massachusetts, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Rhode Island.

Prominently displayed in this image, Mt. Pinos, at 2,692 meters 8,831 feet is the highest peak in the Los Padres National Forest.

This image shows a perspective view of the area around Pasadena, California, just north of Los Angeles. The cluster of hills surrounded by freeways on the left is the Verdugo Hills, which lie between the San Gabriel Valley and the San Fernando Valley.

The 2002 Winter Olympics are hosted by Salt Lake City at several venues within the city, in nearby cities, and within the adjacent Wasatch Mountains.

This image acquired by NASA Shuttle Radar Topography Mission SRTM from data collected on February 12, 2000 shows two islands, Miquelon and Saint Pierre, located south of Newfoundland, Canada.

NASA Shuttle Radar Topography Mission SRTM has produced the first high-resolution, near-global elevation dataset of Earth.

This perspective view, acquired by NASA Shuttle Radar Topography Mission SRTM in Feb. 2000, shows the western part of the city of Pasadena, California, looking north towards the San Gabriel Mountains.

Bora Bora, Tahaa, and Raiatea top to bottom are Polynesian Islands about 220 kilometers 135 miles west-northwest of Tahiti in the South Pacific.