Madagascar

This true-color image of Madagascar was captured by MODIS on September 27, 2001. The country's topsoil erosion problem, due to heavy deforestation and overfarming of the land, is evident in the high-resolution image. There you can see, particularly in the west, rivers choked with red sediment as they flow towards the Mozambique Channel that separates Madagascar from mainland Africa. Also visible is the large discharge of that sediment as the rivers fade into the channel. The tropical forests that can be seen running along the eastern coast once stretched much further into the country's interior.

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

Published September 27, 2001
Data acquired September 27, 2001

Source:

Terra > MODIS

Topics:

Human Dimensions > Environmental Impacts > Deforestation

Hydrosphere > Surface Water > Rivers/Streams

Land Surface > Erosion/Sedimentation > Erosion

Land Surface > Erosion/Sedimentation > Sediment Transport