August 19th, 2010 Category: Salt Flats

Namibia - August 4th, 2010

The white area in the lower part of this image is the Etosha pan, a large endorheic salt pan, forming part of the Namib Desert in the north of Namibia. The 120-kilometre-long (75-mile-long) pan is mostly dry but after a heavy rain it will acquire a thin layer of water, which is heavily salted by the mineral deposits on the surface. Most of the year, the surface is dry mud coated with salt.

The area around the pan is dense mopane woodland. Moving northward into Angola, another green area can be seen – the Angolan Central Plateau, which the Cuando River crosses.

Tags: Angola Cuando River Etosha Pan Namibia |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | | Leave a comment

June 1st, 2010 Category: Image of the day, Rivers

Angola and Botswana - April 28th, 2010

The fan-shaped dark green area in the lower right quadrant is the Okavango Delta in Botswana. The Okavango River—formerly sometimes called the Okovango—takes its name from the Okavango (Kavango) people of northern Namibia.

The Okavango River is the fourth longest river system in southern Africa, running basically southeastward for 1,000 miles (1,600 km) from central Angola, where it is known as the Kubango, to the Kalahari Desert in northern Botswana, where the river terminates in an immense inland delta known as the Okavango Swamp.

Tags: Africa Angola Botswana Kalahari Desert Okavango Delta Okavango River Okavango Swamp |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | | Leave a comment

May 21st, 2010 Category: Vegetation Index

Angola - April 28th, 2010

This FAPAR image shows southeastern Angola, a country located on the western Atlantic Coast of southern Africa between Namibia and the Republic of the Congo. It also is bordered by the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zambia to the east.

The country consists of a sparsely watered and somewhat sterile coastal plain extending inland for a distance varying from 30 to 100 miles (48 to 160 km). Slightly inland and parallel to the coast is a belt of hills and mountains and behind those a large plateau.

The land visible here shows a mostly good vegetation index, as indicated by the green color. Yellow areas indicate lower photosynthetic activity, while the black areas show the presence of water.

Tags: Africa Angola Botswana Democratic Republic of the Congo FAPAR Zambia |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | | Leave a comment

September 17th, 2009 Category: Lakes, Rivers

Botswana, Zimbabwe and Zambia - June 21st, 2009

Numerous important bodies of water and wetlands areas are visible in this fine, cloud-free image of Botswana, Angola, Zimbabwe, Zambia and the Caprivi Strip zone of Namibia.

In Botswana, which occupies the lower portion of the image, the Okavango River and Delta can be seen on the left, and the Makgadikgadi Salt Pans to the right.

Above the Okavango Delta is the Cuando River, which leads to a place known as Africa’s “Four Corners”, as Namibia, Botswana, Angola and Zambia share a quadruple frontier near the triangular swampy area visible northeast of the delta.

The upper portion of the image contains the Zambezi River and Barotse Floodplain in Zambia in the top left quadrant and Lake Kariba, on the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe, in the top right quadrant.

Tags: Africa Angola Barotse Floodplain Botswana Caprivi Strip Cuando River Four Corners Makgadikgadi Pan Namibia Okavango Delta Okavango River Swamp Wetlands Zambezi River Zambia Zimbabwe |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | | Leave a comment

September 1st, 2009 Category: Fires, Rivers

Angola - August 31st, 2009

Close-up of fire

Every year, central and southern Africa are affected by wildfires set in order to clear land for agriculture and grazing.

Here, smoke from fires elsewhere in Africa blows to the West, across Angola and over the Atlantic Ocean. The smoke covers most of western Angola, although it appears thickest along the path of the Cuanza River, in a horizontal band across the top of the image.

A more concentrated plume of smoke from a fire in the lower right quadrant, better observed in the close-up, can also be seen blowing westward.

Tags: Africa Angola Atlantic Ocean Cuanza River Fires |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | | Leave a comment

August 23rd, 2009 Category: Snapshots

Namibia and Angola - August 6th, 2009

Etosha Pan

Part of the border between Namibia (below) and Angola (above) can be easily identified here as a straight line across the land in the upper half of the image.

Two geographical formations of note can also be seen: the green Etosha pan,  a large endorheic salt pan south of the border, and the northern part of the orange Namib Desert, in the lower right quadrant. The close-up focuses on the 120-kilometre-long (75-mile-long) dry lakebed and its surroundings, which are protected as Etosha National Park.

Two other phenomena of a more temporary nature include a semi-circular phytoplankton bloom off the coast between the Namib Desert and the Etosha Pan, and a faint wisp of smoke blowing across the border in the upper right quadrant. Both are best visible upon opening the full version of the main image.

Tags: Africa Angola Etosha National Park Etosha Pan Fires Namib Desert Namibia Phytoplankton Smoke |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | | Leave a comment

August 12th, 2009 Category: Fires

Smoke blowing over Africa - August 6th, 2009

Smoke from fires elsewhere in Africa can be seen blowing across northern Angola and part of western Democratic Republic of the Congo. The smoke blows offshore, giving the clouds near the coast a greyish-yellow tinge.

Visible although somewhat veiled by the smoke is the Kwango (Cuango in Angola), a 1100 km long river in Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It originates in the highlands of central Angola and flows generally northwards, then it makes a border between these two countries.

Tags: Africa Angola Cuango River Democratic Republic of the Congo Fires Kwango River Smoke |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | | Leave a comment

June 29th, 2009 Category: Rivers, Snapshots

Africa's "Four Corners" - June 21st, 2009

The Caprivi Strip cuts horizontally in from the left and across the central band of this image,  ending to the right of the center. It is bordered by the Okavango, Cuando, Chobe and Zambezi rivers. The area is rich in wildlife and has mineral resources.

The strip is a narrow protrusion of Namibia eastwards about 450 km (280 miles), between Botswana on the south, Angola and Zambia to the north, and Okavango Region to the west.

As such, the area has been nicknamed Africa’s “Four Corners”. The site of this quadruple frontier is by the swamp located slightly northeast of the center.

Tags: Angola Botswana Caprivi Strip Chobe River Cuando River Four Corners Namibia Okavango Region Okavango River Swamp Zambezi River Zambia |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | | Comments (1)

May 30th, 2009 Category: Lakes, Rivers

Angola, Botswana, Zambia and Namibia - May 13th, 2009

The wet, interior highland of Angola (upper left quadrant) gradually changes into dry savanna in the interior south and southeast of the country (center left). In the south-east, the rivers belong either to the Zambezi system, or, like the Okavango, drain to Lake Ngami.

Lake Ngami can be observed at the bottom right, just below the Okavango Delta in Botswana.

Visible here as a thick green line north of the Okavango Delta is the Cuando River (alternatively spelled Kwando). This dark green band also marks the border between Angola and Zambia.

The Cuando, which flows into the Zambezi River,  has a wide floodplain.  As with all rivers in south-central Africa its flow varies enormously between the rainy season when it floods and may be several kilometres wide, and the dry season when it may disappear into marshes.

Another river, recognizable as a lighter green line, is visible north of the Cuando. This is the Zambezi River, and the wide green band is an area of wetlands in its Barotse Floodplain, at the end of the rainy season.

Moving southwest to a drier region in the bottom left corner of the image, the Etosha Pan stands out as a white and green area. It is a large endorheic salt pan, forming part of the Kalahari Basin in the north of Namibia. The 120-kilometre-long (75-mile-long) dry lakebed and its surroundings are protected as Etosha National Park, one of Namibia’s largest wildlife parks.

Tags: Angola Barotse Floodplain Botswana Cuando River Etosha Pan Kalahari Basin Kwando River Lake Ngami Namibia Okavango Delta Okavango River Salt Flats Zambezi River Zambia |  Print This Post |  Email This Post | | Leave a comment