As air flows over and around objects in its path, spiraling eddies, known as Von Karman vortices, may form. The vortices in this image were created when prevailing winds sweeping east across the northern Pacific Ocean encountered Alaska's Aleutian Islands.

This image can be found on Landsat 7 Path 79 Row 23-24, center: 53.1 N, 170.4 W.