La Rochelle, the capital of Charente-Maritime, is situated on an inlet of the Bay of Biscay. The image depicts the city as a cluster of bright points along the coast. To the south of La Rochelle, Oléron Island appears in dark brown. Opposite La Rochelle, the Ile de Ré Island is connected to the mainland by a bridge. This SAR multi-temporal image from the ERS-2 satellite combines three acquisitions: red for July 2001, green for December 2000, and blue for March 2001. Coastal and island areas show in dark orange due to tidal differences, while varying field colours reflect changes in vegetation and sea colours change due to varying wind conditions during the acquisitions.

• Image 1: Satellite: ERS-2, Instrument: Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), Acquisition Date: 22 Jul 2001, 24 Dec 2000, 04 Mar 2001, Orbit: 32699, 29693, 30695, Frame: 2676