On September 19, 2012, the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Reflection and Emission Radiometer (ASTER) on NASA's Terra satellite collected this unique view of the Three Sisters and Broken Top volcanoes near Bend, Oregon. At the time, the Pole Creek fire blazed nearby in Deschutes National Forest.

ASTER combines 14 spectral bands in infrared, red, and green wavelengths of light to make false-colour images. In this image, vegetated areas appear bright red; snow and ice looks white; and clouds are a wispier off-white. Exposed rock and barren land near the summits of the mountains are shades of brown. Smoke billowing from the fire appears grey.

Today there are more than 450 perennial snow and ice features in Oregon. About 60 of these are larger than a square kilometre, and 35 are named glaciers. About half of the named glaciers are situated near the Three Sisters and Broken Top volcanoes.

All of the peaks top 9,100 feet (2,700 meters). South Sister, at 10,358 feet (3,157 meters), is the third tallest mountain in the state; North Sister, at 10,085 feet (3,074 meters), is the fourth tallest.

View the full resolution image.

Credit: NASA Earth Observatory Image by Jesse Allen and Robert Simmon, using data from the NASA/GSFC/METI/ERSDAC/JAROS, and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team.