Images
August 13, 2018 - Egypt and Libya
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On August 10, 2018, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA’s Terra satellite flew over northeastern Africa and acquired a true-color image of the undulating coastlines and extremely arid inlands of both Libya and Egypt.
The Sahara Desert - the world’s largest hot desert – spans more than 3.5 million square miles (9.4 million square kilometers) in North Africa. The extremely arid, sand-and-stone-filled region covers much of Algeria, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Western Sahara, Sudan, Tunisia, Libya and Egypt. More than 90 percent of both Libya and Egypt are dry, hot desert, with relief only along the coastlines and, in Egypt, along the Nile and associated rivers.
At 3.6 million square miles (9.4 million square kilometers), the Sahara, which is Arabic for "The Great Desert," engulfs most of North Africa. The desert covers large sections of Algeria, Chad, Egypt, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Western Sahara, Sudan and Tunisia.
One remarkable feature of the Sahara is the Great Sand Sea. Located in eastern Libya and western Egypt – and just east of center in this image - the Great Sand Sea is filled with large sand dunes – some rising 20 to 30 meters (65.5 to 98.4 feet) above the surrounding plains. Frequent, steady winds, which typically blow from the north, have fashioned these dunes into long, roughly parallel ridges that align parallel to the prevailing wind. The Great Sand Sea is frequently the source of large sand storms that occur when strong, gusty winds blow across the region.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Terra
Date Acquired: 8/10/2018
Resolutions:
1km (1.2 MB), 500m (3.2 MB), 250m (2.3 MB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
On August 10, 2018, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA’s Terra satellite flew over northeastern Africa and acquired a true-color image of the undulating coastlines and extremely arid inlands of both Libya and Egypt.
The Sahara Desert - the world’s largest hot desert – spans more than 3.5 million square miles (9.4 million square kilometers) in North Africa. The extremely arid, sand-and-stone-filled region covers much of Algeria, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Western Sahara, Sudan, Tunisia, Libya and Egypt. More than 90 percent of both Libya and Egypt are dry, hot desert, with relief only along the coastlines and, in Egypt, along the Nile and associated rivers.
At 3.6 million square miles (9.4 million square kilometers), the Sahara, which is Arabic for "The Great Desert," engulfs most of North Africa. The desert covers large sections of Algeria, Chad, Egypt, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Western Sahara, Sudan and Tunisia.
One remarkable feature of the Sahara is the Great Sand Sea. Located in eastern Libya and western Egypt – and just east of center in this image - the Great Sand Sea is filled with large sand dunes – some rising 20 to 30 meters (65.5 to 98.4 feet) above the surrounding plains. Frequent, steady winds, which typically blow from the north, have fashioned these dunes into long, roughly parallel ridges that align parallel to the prevailing wind. The Great Sand Sea is frequently the source of large sand storms that occur when strong, gusty winds blow across the region.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Terra
Date Acquired: 8/10/2018
Resolutions:
1km (1.2 MB), 500m (3.2 MB), 250m (2.3 MB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
