File:South Florida (MODIS).jpg

English: On January 11, 2023, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA’s Terra satellite acquired a true-color image of a sunny winter’s day in South Florida. The view stretches from the near-circular Lake Okeechobee in the north to the Florida Keys in the south, and from the Gulf of Mexico (west) to the Atlantic Ocean.

The large, nearly circular body of water near the top of the image is Lake Okeechobee, the largest lake in Florida. Although the surface area measures about 730 square miles, the lake is extremely shallow with an average depth of 9 feet. Okeechobee fills multiple functions, including commercial and sport fishing, flood control, and acts as a reservoir for water for much of South Florida.

South of Okeechobee and reaching to the southern tip of coastal Florida, a vast muddy-green area marks the Florida Everglades, the largest subtropical wilderness in the United States. Part of the Everglades has been protected as the Everglades National Park, which has also been designated as UNESCO World Heritage Site, an International Biosphere Reserve, and a Wetland of International Importance. The Park covers 2,358 square miles (6,105 square km) of Florida’s southern tip.

Curving off of the tip of Florida are a string of islands, islets, and reefs known as the Florida Keys. They stretch about 497 miles (309 km) from the Virgin Key to the western-most Dry Tortugas. Key West, probably the most famous of the Florida Keys, lies about 100 miles (160 km) from the mainland and is the southern-most city in the United States. The bright waters of the Florida Bay sit between the Keys and mainland Florida.

Large swaths of gray color the mainland, most prominently along the east and west coasts, but also scattered across the state. These are cities, highways, and other areas of human construction. The largest area on the west coast is Fort Myers. The large swath along the east coast shows almost unbroken connections between metropolitan areas beginning with Miami in the south and extending to West Palm Beach in the north.