Brazil's Amazon Basin

This Envisat image over the eastern part of Brazil's Amazon Basin clearly highlights the contrast between the rainforest (dark green areas) and sprawling land cultivation (the fishbone-like patterns). Light green colours indicate agricultural areas which where covered by rainforest before. The brownish sediment-laden water visible flowing at the top of the image is the Pará River, the southern arm of the mouth of the Amazon. This image was acquired by Envisat's Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS) on 23 June 2008.