Catalan coast, Spain

This radar image captures part of Catalonia in northeastern Spain including the city of Barcelona (right), the site of one of Europe’s principal seaports.

Geographically, the coastal region has a double system of mountain chains interspersed with plains. While some areas are protected, much of this coastal region has been subject to land degradation, mainly by urban sprawl, quarries and rubbish dumps.

At the centre-left, we can see bright radar reflections from the city of Lleida. To its west sits the border between the autonomous communities of Catalonia and Aragon.

Blue–green colours show cultivated landscape of this area’s plateaus, where crops such as wheat, barley, fruits and vegetables are grown.

South of Lleida we can see part of the Ebro River – the Iberian peninsula’s second-longest river. The dark water snaking through the landscape is prominent due to the presence of dams downstream, backing up the water flow. The river continues south where it empties into the Mediterranean at the Ebro Delta (not pictured).

Along the top of the image are the foothills of the Pyrenees mountains, known as the Pre-Pyrenees.  

This image, also featured on the Earth from Space video programme, was captured by Sentinel-1A’s radar on 29 January 2015.