File:James Bay (MODIS 2018-09-14).jpg

English: James Bay is the southern-most extension of the larger Hudson Bay, which sits in northern Canada. The east coast of James Bay belongs to Quebec and the west is part of Ontario, with the border between the two provinces located at the southern tip of the Bay. The many islands were previously administered by Northwest Territories, but are now part of the territory of Nunavut.

Created by glacial movement in the Pleistocene, James Bay remains a shallow bay, with depth less than 200 feet (60 m) deep in most places. Near the coastline the bottoms are often quite shallow and lined with a thick layer of sediment. When water flows vigorously into the Bay from the many rivers in the region, or when ice melt or precipitation causes run-off from land, the stirring of the coastal waters can cause upwelling of the bottom sediment, creating swirls of tan that can be easily seen from space.

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASA’s Terra satellite acquired a true-color image of James Bay on September 9, 2018.

Heavy sediment can be seen along much of the western and southern coastline as well as around Akimiski Island, the largest island in James Bay. During the last ice age, this island was buried under several thousand meters of ice, but since the retreat of the ice, the island has actually rebounded (risen in elevation) and new beach areas, streams, and lakes have formed. Akimiski Island provides a nursery area for Polar Bear and is a critical stopover for many species of migratory geese, ducks and shorebirds.