Man-made archipelagos near Dubai, United Arab Emirates. When viewed from above, Palm Jumeirah (at left) appears as a stylized palm tree and The World Islands (center) evoke a rough map of the Earth. The Palm Jumeirah project began in 2001 and required more than 50 million cubic meters of dredged sand to raise the islands above the Persian Gulf sea level. The World Islands project was begun in 2003 and completed in 2008, using 320 million cubic meters of sand and 37 million tons of rock for the surrounding 27 kilometer-long protective breakwater. Image photographed by an Expedition 37 crew member on the International Space Station, flying at approximately 220 miles above Earth.