Pine Creek Gorge, in Pennsylvania, forms a deep scar in the Allegheny Plateau, a landscape highlighted by NASA in an autumn image. The valley stands out for the warm tones of the seasonal vegetation, which contrast with the cleft that water has carved into the plateau over thousands of years.

Known locally as the “Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania,” Pine Creek Gorge is one of the most recognizable landforms in the state. Its incised profile shows how fluvial erosion has worn down the rock of the Allegheny Plateau until opening a corridor of steep slopes.

The image, captured during the autumn season, shows the gorge framed by the colour of the surrounding forests. The combination of the valley’s depth and the extent of the plateau offers a clear view of the scale of the relief in the region.