A rare image of the Scottish Highlands on a cloudless day in winter has been captured by the International Space Station (ISS).
Nasa experts said the picture was of value as cloudy skies are common for the region and typically prevent detailed landscape photography from space, especially during the winter months.
The image shows the snow-capped mountains north of Glen Mor, including some of the oldest rocks in Europe which were rearranged by tectonic forces hundreds of millions of years ago.
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Released by the ISS Crew Earth Observations Facility and the Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit at Johnson Space Centre in Houston, it was taken by a member of the Expedition 54 crew on February 25.
The crew member was using a Nikon D5 digital camera with a 290 millimetre lens.
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Also known as the “Great Valley” or “Great Glen”, Glen Mor is a fault zone marked by numerous elongated lakes, one of which is Loch Ness.
The rocky landscape shows signs of reshaping by flowing glaciers during the most recent Ice Ages.
The area has become very popular with walkers and cyclists after locals built a pathway through the area—the Great Glen Way.
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