December Puzzler

Every month we offer a puzzling satellite image here on Earth Matters. Every month someone seems to figure it out quickly. We're feeling like it is time to throw down some gauntlets.

The December 2013 puzzler is below. Your challenge is to use the comments section to tell us what the image shows, what part of the world we are looking at, when the image was acquired, and why the scene is interesting.
The December 2013 puzzler is below. Your challenge is to use the comments section to tell us what the image shows, what part of the world we are looking at, when the image was acquired, and why the scene is interesting.

The December 2013 puzzler is below. Your challenge is to use the comments section to tell us what the image shows, what part of the world we are looking at, when the image was acquired, and why

the scene is interesting.