Snow delineates the escarpment formed by the Alpine Fault along the Southern Alps' northwest edge, near the west coast of New Zealand's South Island, in a satellite image showing the aftermath of a blizzard that hit the island in July 2003. This geological fault, which forms a transform boundary between the Pacific Plate and the Indo-Australian Plate, has experienced numerous earthquakes over the past millennium, including four which reached magnitude eight on the Richter scale.Photograph: Jacques Descloitres / MODIS Rapid Response Team at NASA/GSFC