Earth from Space: Eastern Mediterranean

Copernicus Sentinel-3’s wide view captures the eastern edge of the Mediterranean and surrounding countries.

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This wide view includes Egypt to the south, and Israel, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria to the east. Part of Saudi Arabia can be seen to the east of the Red Sea and Sudan to the west. To the north are the island of Cyprus and the south coast of Türkiye.

The greenish triangle of Egypt’s fertile Nile Delta contrasts with the surrounding bare desert. With less than 3% of Egypt's land suitable for agriculture, the delta is an important farming region. Cairo, Egypt’s capital, appears brown-grey at the bottom of the Delta.

The Nile River is clearly visible. Flowing some 6650 km, the Nile is the longest river in the world. This mighty river rises south of the equator and flows northwards through northeast Africa before draining into the Mediterranean Sea.

The Red Sea is prominent in the image. It is connected to the Mediterranean by the Suez Canal, one of the world’s most important waterways, providing a direct link between the Mediterranean Sea and the Indian Ocean.

The smaller body of water in the centre right of the image is the Dead Sea, the lowest point on the Earth's surface and ten times saltier than the open sea.

The light green area south of the Dead Sea is a large complex of evaporation ponds, which produce salt for the chemical industry and human consumption.

The Copernicus Sentinel-3 mission observes our home planet to understand large-scale environmental dynamics. Based on a constellation of two identical satellites, the mission carries a suite of instruments to measure our oceans, land, atmosphere and ice and provide critical information for a range of applications from marine observations to large-area vegetation monitoring.