MODIS true color image (bands 1, 4, 3) of the Alps, 11 December 2004.
Heralding the oncoming winter, snow dusts the peaks of the Alps in this true-color Terra MODIS image from December 11, 2004. North of the Alps, clouds cover France, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria, and Slovenia. South of the Alps, clear skies dominate most of the image, leaving the Po River valley and peninsulary Italy showing clearly. To the southwest, the Ligurian and Mediterranean seas are an almost uniform deep blue color; to the southeast, the Adriatic Sea features swirls of blue-green microscopic sea organisms (likely phytoplankton and algae), as well as some green-tan sediment from rivers emptying into the sea.
Text and image courtesy of NASA's MODIS Land Rapid Response Team.