Diego Garcia coral atoll, seen from the Space Shuttle Atlantis. The atoll (dark green) encloses the shallow water of a lagoon (pale green). Clouds are

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Diego Garcia coral atoll, seen from the Space Shuttle Atlantis. The atoll (dark green) encloses the shallow water of a lagoon (pale green). Clouds are white and the sea is blue. Diego Garcia is the largest of the coral atolls of the Chagos Archipelago, which lies about 560 kilometres south of the Maldive Islands in the Indian Ocean. Coral reefs are formed by colonies of microscopic organisms on rocks just below the surface of the water. Wind-borne sediments can be deposited to form solid land where vegetation can establish itself. A large Anglo-American military base is in the north-west part of the atoll. Photographed on mission STS-038 (15-20 November 1990).

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Size: 5000px × 5000px
Photo credit: © NASA/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

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