Washington state in the Pacific Northwest

Today’s Video of the Day from the European Space Agency features Washington state, the northwestern-most state in the U.S. 

Washington has more glaciers than the other 47 contiguous states combined. It also produces more apples than any other state in the country. The state’s other top crops include milk, potatoes and wheat.

The video includes data from Landsat 9, which was launched in September 2021. The Columbia River, which is visible in the Landsat image, is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest. 

“The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, flows through Washington and Oregon, before emptying into the Pacific Ocean. The river is one of the world’s greatest sources of hydroelectric power and, with its tributaries, represents a third of the potential hydropower of the United States,” reports ESA.

“As water absorbs a fair amount of radiation, water bodies, such as the Columbia River, appear black in the image. However certain icy water bodies dotted in the left of the image can be seen in turquoise as ice reflects less in the near-infrared channel than in the visible part of the spectrum.”

Video/ Image Credit: ESA

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By Chrissy Sexton, Earth.com Staff Writer