Taklimakan Desert (Western China), Eastern Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan

In northwestern China, the Taklimakan Desert sits like a bowl of sand rimmed by towering mountain ranges. The mountains take turns blocking moisture from the Taklimakan, though some water runs off from both the Tien Shan range to the north and the Kunlun range to the south, making small gray-green deltas scattered around the eastern side of the desert. At the upper left of the image, Kazakhstan9s Balkhash Lake remains ice covered on its eastern half. At lower right, a few bright blue lakes of the Tibetan Plateau can be seen. This image was made from data acquired on March 29, 2002.

Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA/GSFC

Published April 2, 2002
Data acquired March 29, 2002

Source:

Terra > MODIS