Nukuoro Atoll, Micronesia

This is one of the "top ten" photos taken by astronauts on the International Space Station. (There are some other images there worth viewing - auroras and various terrestrial landforms.

...this classically-shaped atoll is part of the Caroline Island chain, which stretches northeast of Papua New Guinea... Nukuoro is one of 607 islands that make up the Federated States of Micronesia... About 900 people live on the atoll whose lagoon is 6 kilometers in diameter. The image shows the sandy atoll with 42 distinct patches of vegetation. These patches are located on the northeast and east portions of the atoll that face the dominant Easterly winds.

Click to enlarge to wallpaper size if you want to do some virtual beachcombing...