February 7th, 2010 Category: Rivers

Morocco - January 8th, 2010

The fertile lands of the Sous appear as a green area around the tan, sediment laden Sous River, south of the snow-capped Atlas Mountains. By the coast, the Sous spills thick brown sediments into the Atlantic Ocean near Agadir, and other rivermouths can also be seen discharging sediments further to the North.

The Sous (also spelled Souss) is a region in southern Morocco. Geologically, it is the alluvial basin of the Sous River, separated from the Sahara by the mountains of the Atlas Range.

A well irrigated area, this has been one of Morocco’s most fertile regions for centuries. The natural vegetation in the Sous is savanna dominated by the Argan, an endemic tree found nowhere else; part of the area is now a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve to protect this unique habitat.

Tags: Agadir Argan Atlantic Ocean Atlas Mountains Morocco Sediments Sous Region Sous River Souss River |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | | Leave a comment

February 1st, 2010 Category: Rivers

Morocco - January 8th, 2010

The Moroccan city of Ouarzazate, often called “the door of the desert”, appears as a green oasis between mountains and desert in the upper left corner. It is the capital of Ouarzazate Province in the Souss-Massa-Draâ region of southern-central Morocco. As of 2004 it had a population of 56,616.

Ouarzazate is located at an altitude of 1,160 m in the middle of a bare plateau, south of the High Atlas Mountains. To the south of the town is the desert. The town is chiefly inhabited by Berbers, who constructed many of the prominent kasbahs and buildings for which the area is known.

Here, the Draa River, the longest in Morocco, can be seen flowing down from the High Atlas Mountains in the upper left corner, past Ouarzazate, and diagonally across the image towards the southeast. The green of the Draa Valley appears as a green ribbon surrounding the river.

Tags: Africa Draa River Draa Valley High Atlas Mountains Morocco Ouarzarzate Sahara Desert Souss-Massa-Draâ Region |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | | Leave a comment

January 18th, 2010 Category: Image of the day

Morocco - January 2nd, 2010

Sediments frame the western coasts of Morocco (below) and Spain (above) and flow from the Atlantic Ocean (left) through the Strait of Gibraltar into the Mediterranean Sea (right). Although water moves in both directions between the two bodies of water, on the whole and over time, the balance of the water flow is eastwards, due to an evaporation rate within the Mediterranean basin that is higher than the combined inflow of all the rivers that empty into it.

To the south, the Atlas Mountains can be seen running diagonally across Morocco and into Algeria. The entire range extends about 2,500 km (1,500 miles), all the way east to Tunisia. The Sahara Desert can be observed below this range. Another shorter range, the Rif Mountains, are visible just below the strait. These mountains are not part of the Atlas chain.

Tags: Africa Algeria Atlas Mountains Europe Mediterranean Sea Morocco Rif Mountains Sahara Desert Spain Strait of Gibraltar |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | | Leave a comment

November 19th, 2009 Category: Dust Storms

Sahara Desert - November 16th, 2009

The Sahara is the world’s largest hot desert. At over 9,000,000 square kilometres (3,500,000 sq mi), it covers most of Northern Africa, including huge parts of Algeria, Chad, Egypt, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Western Sahara, Sudan and Tunisia. The area visible here includes southern Libya (upper left), northern Chad (lower left), southern Egypt (top right) and northern Sudan (bottom right).

The desert landforms of the Sahara are shaped by wind or by occasional rains, and include sand dunes and dune fields or sand seas, stone plateaus, gravel plains, dry valleys and salt flats. Several deeply dissected mountains and mountain ranges rise from the desert, many of which are volcanic, including the Tibesti Mountains, identifiable here as a brown area along the left edge.

The Tibesti Mountains are a group of dormant volcanoes forming a mountain range in the central Sahara desert in the Bourkou-Ennedi-Tibesti Region of northern Chad. The northern slopes extend a short distance into southern Libya. Here, some whitish colored dust can be seen blowing to the southwest, below the mountain range.

Tags: Africa Chad Dust Egypt Libya Sahara Desert Sudan Tibesti Mountains |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | | Leave a comment

November 17th, 2009 Category: Lakes

Italy - October 7th, 2009

The terrain of southern Italy appears divided in two, between the flatter lands near the Adriatic Coast (above) and the more mountainous terrain towards Tyrrhenian Sea (below).

Upon opening the full image, many cities and towns in the Apulia region appear as tan circular areas on the flatter Adriatic side. The main exception to this generally plain-like topography is the Gargano Peninsula (top left corner), home to Monte Gargano.

Also of note on the peninsula are Lake Lesina  (left) and Lake Varano (right), both dark green, separated from the Adriatic by a thin strip of land and dunes. Sediments line the coast of the peninsula, particularly to the right. Other swirls of sediments are also visible in the full image along the shores of the Gulf of Taranto (right).

Continuing to the right along the shoreline, towns cities such as Bari appear as tan patches amidst the green terrain. On the bottom right, by Apulia’s border with the Basilicata Region, the Basento River spills tan sediments into the Gulf of Taranto.

Tags: Adriatic Sea Apulia Bari Basento River Basilicata Europe Gargano Peninsula Gulf of Taranto Italy Monte Gargano Promontorio del Gargano Puglia | Print This Post | Email This Post | | Comments (1) | Edit

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Tags: Adriatic Sea Apulia Europe Gargano Peninsula Gulf of Taranto Italy Lake Lesina Lake Varano Monte Gargano Puglia Sediments Tyrrhenian Sea |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | | Leave a comment

November 3rd, 2009 Category: Snapshots

Morocco - October 4th, 2009

Fuerteventura (below) and Lanzarote (above), two of the Canary Islands, are visible off the coast of Africa near the border between Morocco (north) and Western Sahara (south).

The terrain of Western Sahara consists mainly of desert flatlands, although large areas of rocky or sandy surfaces rise to small mountains in the south and northeast. Here, one such ridge of mountains is visible just above the country’s border with Mauritania, whose terrain occupies the lower right quadrant.

This land in Mauritania is part of the Saharan Zone and has little vegetation. Some mountainous areas with a water source support small-leafed and spiny plants and scrub grasses suitable for camels. Cultivation is limited to oases, where date palms are used to shade other crops from the sun.

Tags: Canary Islands Fuerteventura Lanzarote Mauritania Morocco Sahara Desert Saharan Zone Western Sahara |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | | Leave a comment

October 19th, 2009 Category: Snapshots

Algeria - September 29th, 2009

The Tell Atlas is a mountain chain over 1,500 kilometers in length that parallels the Mediterranean coast in North Africa. The chain belongs to the Atlas mountain ranges, stretching from Morocco, through Algeria to Tunisia. Here, the ranging can be seen running through Algeria.

The Tell Atlas enjoys a typical Mediterranean climate (warm, dry summers and mild, rainy winters with snow at upper elevations). As a consequence, the northern slopes of the Tell Atlas are forested with cedar, pine, and cork oak. Some of this vegetation appears as green areas on the right side of the image.

In the summer a hot, dry wind, the Sirocco, blows north from the Sahara across the Tell Atlas, causing dusty, dry conditions along the northern coast of Africa. Despite the arid climate, some agriculture for barley and wheat farming is found in the Tell Atlas region.

Tags: Africa Algeria Atlas Mountains Mediterranean Sea Tell Atlas |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | | Leave a comment

October 13th, 2009 Category: Image of the day

Strait of Gibraltar - August 27th, 2009

Close-up of strait

Moroccan coast

The main image here is an orthorectified wide-swath ASAR (radar) image of southern Spain and northern Morocco. It is possible to see a larger area as the width of the swath is five times that of a normal IMM image.

The first close-up focuses on the northeastern coast of Morocco near the port city of Al Hoceima, by the center of the Rif Mountains.

The second close-up focuses on the Strait of Gibraltar. Ships can be seen moving through the strait and clustered around the port city of La Línea de la Concepción, on the eastern isthmus of the Bay of Gibraltar, and the nearby British overseas territory of Gibraltar (right edge).

Tags: Al Hoceima Bay of Gibraltar Gibraltar La Línea de la Concepción Morocco Orthorectification Rif Mountains Spain Strait of Gibraltar Wide-swath |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | | Leave a comment

October 1st, 2009 Category: Dust Storms, Volcanoes

Canary Islands - September 24th, 2009

Close-up

Dust sweeps southwestward, blowing off the coast of Morocco and Western Sahara (right) and over the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean.

The archipelago is located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the disputed border between Morocco and the Western Sahara.

All of the Canary Islands are visible in the main image: (from highest to lowest) Tenerife, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, La Palma, La Gomera, El Hierro, Alegranza, La Graciosa and Montaña Clara.

The close-up focuses on, from left to right, La Gomera, Tenerife and Gran Canaria. Clouds flank the northern sides of their respective volcanic peaks.

Tags: Alegranza Atlantic Ocean Canary Islands Dust El Hierro Fuerteventura Gran Canaria La Gomera La Graciosa La Palma Lanzarote Montaña Clara Morocco Tenerife Western Sahara |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | | Leave a comment