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A satellite image of the Rakaia River. - Source: DigitalGlobe
A satellite image of a Canterbury Plains river has been dubbed the picture of the year.
DigitalGlobe, the company which captures 270 million square miles of imagery per year, asked its fans to vote for their favourite satellite picture.
Facebook fans of the company, which shoots images are used for Google Maps, chose from 20 of DigitalGlobe's favourite images.
The Rakaia River in the Canterbury Plains won the vote.
'It is one of the largest braided rivers in New Zealand,' says DigitalGlobe.
It rises in the Southern Alps, travelling 150 kilometres in a generally easterly or southeasterly direction before entering the Pacific Ocean 50km south of Christchurch.
The picture of the twisting river beat images of flooding in Australia, Palm Island in Dubai, Ground Zero in New York and protests in Egypt.
The images by DigitalGlobe also includes memorable shots that captured the devastation after last year's tsunami in Japan.
DigitalGlobe's hi-tech satellite network provides imagery for some Nasa projects.
