NASA Photo ID: STS066-158-181      File Name: 20182544.jpg
  Film Type: 70mm                    Date Taken: 11/14/94
  Title: Himalayas as seen from STS-66 shuttle Atlantis
  Description:
  View is southeastward across China (Tibet), half of Nepal and India. The
  partly frozen lake near the center of the frame is Pei-Ku T'so ("Bos-tie
  Lake"). The central Himalaya stretches from Mount Everest on the left past
  Annapurna on the right. Large tributaries converge to form the Ganges
  River, flowing through the lowland basin south of the Himalaya. This
  photograph illustrates the rain shadow effect of the Himalaya Chain; wet,
  warm air from the Indian Ocean is driven against the mountains, lifted, and
  drained of water that forms ice caps, the abundant rivers, and forests of
  the foothills. In contrast the high plateau of Tibet is arid, composed
  largely of topographically-closed basins because stream flow is inadequate
  to form integrated drainage networks.
  Subject terms:
  ATLANTIS (ORBITER)                      
  CHINA                                   
  EARTH OBSERVATIONS (FROM SPACE)         
  HIMALAYAS                               
  MOUNTAINS                               
  SNOW                                    
  STS-66                                  
  

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