Turning of the Seasons Along the New River, West Virginia

An animation of satellite images centered on the New River of West Virginia shows the transition of the seasons. Forests green up in May, the leaves turn color in October, and in late November, a massive Thanksgiving-week storm leaves behind a blanket of snow that causes the rugged terrain to stand out in stark relief. The animation lingers longer on the snowy image, captured by NASA's Terra satellite on Nov. 29. (Images: NASA. Animation: Tom Yulsman) The massive winter storm that swept across much of the United States right before Thanksgiving left behind quite a lot of snow in places. From space, the blanketing of snow brings out aspects of the landscape that otherwise are difficult to discern, including the spectacular New River in West Virginia, visible in the animation above. The series of three images charts the turning of the seasons in this part of the country, from the ...