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Natural Resources Canada > Earth Sciences Sector > Priorities > Canada Centre for Remote Sensing
Tour Canada from space Winnipeg, Manitoba
 Established as a major distribution hub, Winnipeg sits on the plains of south central Manitoba, the focal point for all forms of transportation. Careful interpretation of this satellite image will reveal much about the makeup of this city, including: its relationship with sometimes overabundant water flow, the central business district and its radiating transportation arteries, how the airport is buffered from residential areas by more noise-tolerant forms of land use, the varied land use patterns and transportation arteries showing their characteristic 'signatures', and the edge of the city, where new urban development is expanding into the farming areas that surround the city.
Question: From what you observe in this image, can you tell which way the Red River (widest river here, with strong meanders) is flowing? North or South? North is roughly towards the top of the image.
Hint: Look downtown for some evidence! [ Answer ]
About this Image
| Location: |
Winnipeg, Manitoba |
| NTS map(s): |
62 H |
 Location Map: |
See a detailed map (1:1M) of the region |
| Image Date: |
October 3, 1995 |
| Satellites/Sensors: |
Landsat TM (bands 5, 4, 3 = R, G, B) |
| Resolution: |
42 m pixels |
| Image Area: |
31 by 29 km |
| Image Features: |
Red River, Assiniboine River, Seine River, central business district, shadows, bridge, railroad bridge, commercial strip, residential neighbourhood, foliage, airport, runways, golf course, industrial park, farm fields, floodway, quarry, water table, surface water, University of Manitoba, golf course, Perimeter Highway, divided highway, Fort Gary Bridge, Bishop Grandin Boulevard, St. Vital Centre, pavement |
| Related Tour Images: |
City by the Lake - Toronto, Ontario; Montréal, Québec; Downtown Vancouver, British Columbia; Calgary, Alberta; Ottawa, Ontario; Québec City, Québec |
| Related Glossary Terms: |
These terms from the CCRS Glossary may help you to understand this image and its interpretation:
image texture, tone, brightness, contrast, contrast enhancement, contrast stretch |
| Related Tutorial Sections: |
These sections of the "Fundamentals of Remote Sensing" tutorial by CCRS will help you to better understand this image and its interpretation:
2.12 4.2 4.5 5.7
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| Image Credits: |
Received and analyzed by the Canada Centre for Remote Sensing
Pre-processed by, and provided courtesy of RADARSAT International Inc. |
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Additional
Information: | "Precision agriculture" is a technique that allows a farmer to deal specifically with those parts of a field that require special or different attention. Perhaps more or less fertilizer, pesticide or water is required in one part of a field than in another. To determine precise locations within a field, GPS (global positioning system) technology is used. To correlate and assess various parameters (soil moisture, soil type, biomass, etc.) in a geographically-distributed manner, GIS (geographic information system) technology is used. To deliver the 'treatment' that a particular part of a field requires, VRT (variable rate technology) is used. The precursor to all of this is the necessity to evaluate the conditions in a field. This is required before and after 'treatments'. Here is where remote sensing plays a crucial part. The sample image shown here, for instance, can be used to identify crop types, soil and crop moisture variability, biomass variability, microdrainage patterns, the presence of weeds and insects and much more. With high resolution satellite data or airborne imaging, the fine spatial detail that is needed can be effectively collected. |
| Question: |
From what you observe in this image, can you tell which way the Red River (widest river here, with strong meanders) is flowing? North or South? North is roughly towards the top of the image.
Hint: Look downtown for some evidence! |
| Answer: |
We have a natural tendency to believe that water flows from the top of the image towards the bottom. But the Red River actually flows towards the north (top of the image). One clue is the shape of the intersection of the Assiniboine into the Red river. On the west side of the Red River, the rounded shoreline to the north, in contrast to the point-shaped shoreline to the south indicates that the Assiniboine tends to join the Red in a flow towards the north. Another clue is the much smaller Seine River, just to the east of the Red. Since the Seine's mouth is at its northern end, it must flow to the north, and so must the nearby and nearly parallel Red River. |
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