File:Falkland Islands (MODIS 2020-08-17).jpg

English: On August 5, 2020, NASA’s Terra satellite passed over the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of southern Argentina, allowing the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board to acquire a true-color image of the Falkland Islands.

The islands sit about 400 miles (600 km) east of Argentina and about 850 miles (1,350 km) north of the Antarctic Circle. Just slightly larger than the state of Connecticut, this self-governing territory of the United Kingdom contains about 778 islands. The two largest, East Falkland and West Falkland, are seen in this image. The name of the archipelago comes from the Falkland Sound – the waterway that divides these two large islands.

The Falkland Islands have a cool, moist climate that varies minimally throughout the year. Average annual temperatures are about 5.6°C (42°F). Temperatures reach as high as 24°C (76°F) in summer and as low as -5°C (22°F) in winter. Rainfall is comparatively low and evenly distributed throughout the year, averaging 625 millimeters (25 inches) in Stanley, the capital city. Few trees grow on the islands. Instead, grassland and heath—which is widely used as pastureland for sheep and cattle—dominate the landscape. There are more sheep and cattle in the Falkland Islands than people, who only number around 2,000 souls. Pasturage is also used for a herd of reindeer, which were introduced in 2001 from South Georgia in hopes of diversifying the economy through the production of specialty meat. The CIA World Factbook states that this herd has the distinction of being the only commercial reindeer herd in the world unaffected by the 1986 Chernobyl disaster. The reindeer, however, contribute to the overgrazing that threatens important habitats on the islands.