The border region of southern Kenya and northern Tanzania – with a small portion of south eastern Uganda – is pictured in this image, acquired by Envisat’s MERIS instrument on 4 January 2012.

In the lower-right portion of the image, we can see the snows of Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest mountain at 5895 m above sea level. North of Mount Kilimanjaro is Mount Kenya, the second-highest mountain in Africa. The area pictured is part of the East African Rift – an area where two tectonic plates are moving apart from one another – making this home to a number of both active and dormant volcanoes.