WIKIARCHIVES.SPACE

What appears to be an extraterrestrial landscape is in reality cracked mud on the outskirts of a marshy area on the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. The hot daytime temperatures in Florida at this time of the year help create the phenomenon. The refuge was established in 1963 on Kennedy Space Center land and water not used by NASA for the space program. It encompasses 92,000 acres that are a habitat for more than 331 species of birds, 31 mammals, 117 fishes, and 65 amphibians and reptiles.