This loop of GOES-9 visible imagery shows ship condensation trails ("ship tracks") off the California coast on 15 July 1998. These features were being distorted as they were carried southward by northerly winds within the marine boundary layer. Note the cloud-free regions downwind of the islands off southern California -- these result from the the islands acting as a barrier to the winds and stratocumulus clouds within the marine layer. Aslo evident are the snow-capped Sierra Nevada Mountains in central California.