English: On May 2, 2020, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board the Terra satellite acquired a true-color image that gave a sweeping view of springtime across the Southeastern United States.

Cloud hangs over part of the Appalachian Mountains, which stretch approximately 1,500 miles (2,400 km) from Newfoundland, Canada to Alabama, United States. Although a relatively low mountain chain, the Appalachians are one of the oldest mountains chains in the world. The rocks that form these mountains are estimated to be 540 to 300 million years old. The Blue Ridge Mountains are the eastern-most section of the greater Appalachians.

The Cumberland Plateau sits west of the Appalachians, rising more than 1,000 feet across eastern Tennessee, Alabama, and north into Kentucky. Once a remote virgin forest built on rock-strewn ridges and steep green ravines, this area marks one of the world’s longest expanse of hardwood-forested plateau. East of the Blue Ridge Mountains the rolling Piedmont region stretches to the lowlands of the Coastal Plain. The Coastal Plain is a rich agricultural region, so it’s no surprise that much of it appears tan as fields and croplands are renewed at the start of a new growing season.