Riga, Latvia
Riga is the capital and the largest city of Latvia. With 696,593 inhabitants (2015), Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states and home to one third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga, at the mouth of the Daugava. Riga's territory covers 307.17 km2 and lies between 1 and 10 metres above sea level, on a flat and sandy plain. Riga was founded in 1201 and is a former Hanseatic League member. Riga's historical centre is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, noted for its Art Nouveau/Jugendstil architecture and 19th century wooden architecture. Riga was the European Capital of Culture during 2014, along with Umeå in Sweden. Riga hosted the 2006 NATO Summit, the Eurovision Song Contest 2003, and the 2006 IIHF Men's World Ice Hockey Championships. It is home to the European Union's office of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC). Riga is served by Riga International Airport, the largest airport in the Baltic states. Riga is a member of Eurocities, the Union of the Baltic Cities (UBC) and Union of Capitals of the European Union (UCEU). More information is available on Wikipedia
This week, our Landsat image comparison focuses on urban change in the Latvian capital, Riga. The city is located near the mouth of the Daugava River, in the Gulf of Riga – part of the Baltic Sea. Being so ideally situated to the sea, Riga is a major seaport and cultural, industrial centre. Different industries thrive here, including:
The oldest section of Riga is still surrounded by a moat, and contains several medieval buildings. These include a cathedral from the 13th century and guild halls dating from the 14th century. There are a number of universities in Riga, including the Latvian Academy of Sciences. The city also boasts a symphony orchestra, theatres, museums and a zoo. These images were acquired thirty years apart and show a clear before and after demonstrating how urban development has changed Riga, especially the south east where the national airport is located. Another aim of these images is to promote the opportunity to download Landsat data through the ESA portals, where images captured every day are made available in near real time to the users and the scientific community. Landsat full resolution data products are freely available for immediate download at:  View Landsat 5 TM high resolution image (JPG 3.7 MB) View Landsat 8 OLI high resolution image (JPG 2.2 MB)
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
