An astronaut aboard the International Space Station captured this photograph of Wyoming and Montana’s Rocky Mountains blanketed with snow. The Wind River Range branches off from the Rockies to the southeast, stretching between the Wind River and Green River basins.
Areas of higher elevation, such as the mountain peaks and the Green River Basin, are blanketed with snow. In contrast, parts of the lower elevation areas like the Bighorn and Wind River Basins lack snow cover (tan). This variation highlights a small rain shadow effect, where the mountains block westerly winds, preventing the basins from receiving as much snowfall as higher regions.
As spring approaches, the ice and snow will melt and flow into the surrounding lakes and rivers. This meltwater is used for agricultural irrigation, drinking water, and recreation. Lower elevations typically start to see the snow melt in spring, with higher elevations following into the summer.
The frozen surfaces of Yellowstone and Jackson Lakes blend into the terrain’s white and gray scenery. Gateway towns, such as West Yellowstone, Jackson, and Cody, flank the mountains and provide an access point to Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks.
Yellowstone Lake is located within Yellowstone National Park, which was established in 1872 as the nation’s first national park. The lake formed through past glacial activity and volcanic collapse, which filled the Yellowstone Caldera and gave the lake’s shoreline its present unique shape. Jackson Lake sits within Grand Teton National Park, just south of Yellowstone, and was formed through glacial advances and melting.
Much of the area captured in this photograph is managed by the U.S. Forest Service or the U.S. National Park Service, including Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. These parks and forests are dedicated to preserving and maintaining natural lands, conserving watersheds, and protecting wildlife and ecosystems while ensuring safe recreational opportunities for visitors.
The land within the Grand Teton and Yellowstone national parks is culturally significant to many Native Americans, including the Eastern Shoshone Tribe within the Wind River Basin. Named after this tribe, the Shoshone National Forest was created in 1891 and was the first national forest in the United States.
Astronaut photograph ISS072-E-574813 was acquired on January 29, 2025, with a Nikon Z9 digital camera using a focal length of 50 millimeters. It is provided by the ISS Crew Earth Observations Facility and the Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit at NASA Johnson Space Center. The image was taken by a member of the Expedition 72 crew. The image has been cropped and enhanced to improve contrast, and lens artifacts have been removed. The International Space Station Program supports the laboratory as part of the ISS National Lab to help astronauts take pictures of Earth that will be of the greatest value to scientists and the public, and to make those images freely available on the Internet. Additional images taken by astronauts and cosmonauts can be viewed at the NASA/JSC Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth. Caption by Sara Schmidt, GeoControl Systems, JETS II Contract at NASA-JSC.
