Venice from Outer Space

NASA simulated natural colour image showing the Venetian Lagoon on 9.12.2001. Picture by NASA Earth Observatory.

This NASA satellite picture shows the position of Venice within the Venetian lagoon.

The mainland city of Mestre is readily apparent although the causeway linking Venice to the mainland  is barely perceptible.

The tiny cemetery island of San Michele, and the far larger island of Murano are also visible directly to the north of Venice. However, the more distant northern islands of Burano, Torcello, and Mazzorbo are partially obscured by clouds.

Detail showing Venice and the southern islands of Giudecca (shaped like a fishbone) and San Giorgio (opposite the mouth of the Grand Canal)

The Grand Canal, Venice's principal waterway, is clearly visible as is Giudecca, the island shaped like a fishbone to the south of the city. The greenery of the Giardini, the municipal gardens located in the eastern Castello district, can also be seen.

The open space of the Piazza San Marco is also  visible as a tiny grey area, near the point where the southern mouth of the Grand Canal flows into the San Marco Basin, opposite the island of San Giorgio.

The smaller patch of grey on the Fondamente Nuove, Venice's northern waterfront, marks the location of the huge Gothic church of Santi Giovanni and Paolo, while the promenade, which stretches the entire length of the southern Zattere waterfront, is just about visible as a faint grey streak.

Most of the city, being a dense concentration of buildings, is a muddy brown colour. However, the industrial expanses of the Arsenale to the east, and the docks in the Dorsoduro district, near the northern mouth of the Grand Canal, are clearly visible.

Detail showing the Lido which was formed by silt  accumulating on a ledge so as to create a sandbar

Although the colours are simulated, their relative densities have been preserved.

The depth of the water is indicated by the shade of blue. The shallow lagoon is represented by a paler shade than the indigo of the Adriatic to the east of the Lido.

The Lido was created by silt drifting onto a long, thin ledge which created a sand bar dividing the lagoon from the open sea.

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