Cape Verde Archipelago

This Envisat image captures the Republic of Cape Verde, a group of volcanic islands located in the North Atlantic Ocean some 600 km off Africa’s west coast. Islands visible from top left to right are Santo Antão, São Vicente, Santa Luzia, São Nicolau, Sal, Boa Vista, Maio, Santiago, Fogo and Brava.

This image was created by combining three Envisat Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar (ASAR) acquisitions (21 November 2006, 6 May 2007 and 23 August 2009) taken over the same area. The colours in the image result from variations in the surface that occurred between acquisitions.