The Uvs Nuur Basin in Mongolia and the Russian Federation is the
northernmost of the enclosed basins of Central Asia. It takes its name
from Uvs Nuur Lake, a large, shallow and very saline lake, very important
for migrating birds. Inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2003,
the site is made up of twelve protected areas representing major biomes of
eastern Eurasia. The steppe ecosystem supports a rich diversity of birds
and the desert is home to a number of rare gerbil, jerboas and the marbled
polecat. The mountains are an important refuge for the endangered snow
leopard, mountain sheep, and the Asiatic ibex.
The image covers an area of 46 x 47.8 km, was acquired on September 4,
2001, and is located near 50.3 degrees north latitude, 90.7 degrees east
longitude.
The U.S. science team is located at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory,
Pasadena, Calif. The Terra mission is part of NASA's Science Mission
Directorate.
