Taklimakan Desert, Western China

The Taklimakan Desert in northwest China is a vast region of sand desert sitting in a depression between two high, rugged mountain ranges. Seen in these true-color Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) images, the Taklimakan's rolling sand dunes stretch out over about 125,000 square miles in the Xinjiang region of China. The desert is hemmed in to the north by the Tien Shan Mountain range and to the south by the rugged Kunlun Mountains. In the image from January 2, 2003, a blanket of snow covers the desert’s outer edges.

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Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA/GSFC

Published October 27, 2002
Data acquired October 7 - 7, 2002

Source:

Terra > MODIS

Topics:

Biosphere > Terrestrial Ecosystems > Deserts

Biosphere > Terrestrial Habitat > Desert

Collection:

MODIS Rapid Response