Image Name                   :  m97
Boundaries                   :  Lat 14N to 33N ; Lon 241E to 285E
Color Scale, Upper (Red)     :   6.8 meters and higher
Color Scale, Lower (Magenta) : -47.6 meters and lower 
Data Max value               :   6.8 meters
Data Min value               : -47.6 meters
Illuminated from the         :  East 

  This is an image generated from 2'x2' geoid undulations covering Mexico and
surrounding areas.  Some interesting features to note about this image are:

  The geoid high, seen as a red spot, is located over central Honduras.
This is not a localized feature, but rather the northern tip of a much
broader geoid high that extends south from Honduras, and spreads out
along the west coast of South America.

  The distinctive "break" in the geoid, in the lower center of the picture 
occurs at the Tehauntepec Isthmus.  This isthmus seperates the Sierra
del Sur mountains (to the west) from the Sierra de Chiapas (to the East).
  
  The brightly lit slope in the geoid, off of the east coast of the 
United States, is the effect of a 4000 meter (~13,000 feet) drop in 
the bathymetry, demarking the edge of the continental shelf.

  The few noticably large bumps in the Pacific ocean are caused by massive
seamounts up to 3000 meters (~10,000 feet) in height above the sea floor.

das/dgm 4/14/97