[NASA] Snow in the Shadow of the Andes

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3. Snow in the Shadow of the Andes

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Snow covers large areas of southern Argentina’s high plains in this image acquired on April 3, 2026, by the 

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 (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) on NASA’s 

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 satellite.

NASA Earth Observatory/Michala Garrison

On the eastern, arid side of the Andes, the plains of southern Argentina stretch from the mountains to the Atlantic coast. The landscape often appears dry and brown, interrupted by

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, but a storm in early April 2026 blanketed swaths of the land in white. The 

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 (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) on NASA’s 

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 satellite captured this image of the snowy Patagonian Desert on the morning of April 3.

Early fall has been wetter than normal in southern Patagonia, said atmospheric scientist 

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 of the Universidad de Chile, noting that

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showed above-average precipitation from late March through early April. Much of the region’s precipitation tends to fall on the western,

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of the Andes, he said. “But strong winds are capable of blowing some snow east into the Argentinian side, as beautifully reflected in the MODIS image.”

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Snow lines a valley at the outlet of Lago Argentino in this image acquired on April 3, 2026, by the

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 (Operational Land Imager) on 

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.

NASA Earth Observatory/Michala Garrison

Snow clings to the

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, while valleys draining the large glacial lakes are bare. In this detailed Landsat image, a stark snow line appears along the outlet of Lago Argentino. Also note the color of the water. Lago Argentino and other nearby lakes contain an abundance of fine sediment, or

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, pulverized by southern Patagonia’s

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. This

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makes the lakes appear milky blue or turquoise.

Though snow was widespread across the desert after the early-season storm, the wintry splendor was fleeting. A satellite view from the

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of April 4 showed that snow had melted from all but the highest mountain areas.

NASA Earth Observatory images by Michala Garrison, using MODIS data from NASA 

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and 

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, and Landsat data from the 

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. Story by Lindsey Doermann.

Downloads

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Terra: April 3, 2026

JPEG (3.29 MB)

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Landsat 9: April 3, 2026

JPEG (9.53 MB)

References & Resources

• AntarcticGlaciers.org (2026, March 19)
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  . Accessed April 8, 2026.
• NASA Earth Observatory (2019, June 11)
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  . Accessed April 8, 2026.
• NASA Earth Observatory (2019, May 20)
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  . Accessed April 8, 2026.
• NASA Earth Observatory (2011, March 11)
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  . Accessed April 8, 2026.

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