Cloudless view of the Scottish Highlands taken from space

Looking out from a window on the International Space Station, an astronaut captured this incredible snap of the Scottish Highlands.

Scotland as seen from the International Space Station. Picture NASA

As anyone who has visited Scotland knows, cloud-covered skies are common and they typically prevent landscape photography from space, especially during the winter months (when this image was taken).

The view shows snow-capped mountains north of Glen Mor, which include some of the oldest rocks in Europe.

The unique topography of the Scottish Highlands is the result of geological processes spanning billions of years.

The snow-capped mountains north of Glen Mor include some of the oldest rocks in Europe, and they were subsequently rearranged by tectonic forces hundreds of millions of years ago.

The rocky landscape also shows signs of reshaping by flowing glaciers during the most recent Ice Ages.