English: On April 4, 2015 the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer captured a true-color image of springtime in the Upper Midwest of the United States. This region, often called America�s Heartland, sits well inland, with no direct contact to either the Pacific Ocean (to the west) or the Atlantic Ocean (to the east). Instead, the region is home to many lakes and rivers, most prominently the Mississippi River and the Great Lakes.

The Mississippi River could be said to be the very heart of the Heartland, since all of the landmass seen in this image drain into this river. Indeed, as the National Park Service describes it, the Mississippi River watershed is the fourth largest in the world, extending from the Allegheny Mountains in the east to the Rocky Mountains in the west. The watershed includes all or parts of 31 states and 2 Canadian Provinces. The watershed measures approximately 1.2 million square miles, covering about 40% of the lower 48 states.

On this early spring day, the grasslands (prairies) retain a tan color similar to winter, indicating the new growth has not yet become predominate. Further south, widespread vegetation colors the landscape in shades of greens. The rich agricultural area of the Mississippi River Valley appears tan, likely due to preparation of fields for cropping. Fires speckle the landscape, with a large cluster of fires in Kansas and northern Oklahoma.