Rio Baluarte sediment, GeoEye-1 satellite image. Heavy sediment load and plume spilling from the mouth of the Rio Baluarte into the Gulf of California, near the town of Caimanero in the Mexican state of Sinaloa. This increased sediment load and the swollen river was likely caused by rainfall from the recent Hurricane Jimena (28 August to 4 September 2009). This image is several hundred metres across. Image data obtained on 9 September 2009. The US-operated GeoEye-1 satellite was launched in September 2008, and orbits at a height of 680 kilometres. It is the world's highest resolution commercial Earth-imaging satellite.