Party On

Just thought I'd share this for all you party goers.

The island of Ibiza—Eivissa in the native Catalan language—is located off of the southeastern coast of Spain and is part of the Balearic archipelago. Together with the neighbouring island of Formentera (not shown), it comprises the Pine Islands of the western archipelago.

The largest cities on the island—Ibiza Town, Sant Antoni de Portmany, and Santa Eulària des Riu—appear as white to pink regions near coastal bays in this photograph from the International Space Station. Like many of the Balearic Islands, the major industry of Ibiza is tourism, and Ibiza Town and Sant Antoni de Portmany are particularly well known for their night-life.

Much of the lowland interior is covered with green to light brown agricultural fields; some of them are in active production of wheat, olives, and grapes, but others are inactive and undergoing a re-growth of native trees such as pine (Pinus halpensis) and savine (Juniperus phoenicea). The northern and south-western coastlines are hilly (grey-brown regions), with the highest peak (Sa Talaia; 475 meters above sea level) located in the south-western region.

Parts of the island and near-shore waters are designated as UNESCO World Heritage sites and provide opportunities for rock climbing and eco-tourism. The island hosts a large variety of birds and lizards, though no large land fauna are present. Parts of Ibiza and Formentera wetlands have been identified as habitat for nesting and migratory water birds by the Ramsar Convention of Wetlands of International Importance.

Ships are visible near Ibiza Town, and a ship wake makes a line in the sea off the south-western coastline (lower left). The Mediterranean Sea to the south-east appears dark due to shadowing by clouds, just visible in the lower right corner.

Astronaut photograph ISS035-E-7431 was acquired on March 22, 2013, with a Nikon D3S digital camera using a 400 millimetre lens, and is provided by the ISS Crew Earth Observations experiment and Image Science & Analysis Laboratory, Johnson Space Centre. The image was taken by the Expedition 35 crew. It has been cropped and enhanced to improve contrast, and lens artefacts have been removed.
Image & text: NASA

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