- Original Caption Released with Image:
-
This ASTER sub-scene covers an area of 12 x 15 km in NW India in the Thar
Desert. The sand dunes of the Thar Desert constantly shift and take on new
shapes. Located in northwestern India and eastern Pakistan, the desert is
bounded on the south by a salt marsh known as the Rann of Kutch, and on
the west by the Indus River plain. About 800 kilometers long and about 490
kilometers wide, the desert's terrain is mainly rolling sandhills with
scattered growths of shrub and rock outcroppings. Only about 12 to 25
centimeters of rain fall on the desert each year, and temperatures rise as
high as 52 degrees Celsius. Much of the population is pastoral, raising
sheep for their wool. The image is located at 24.4 degrees north latitude
and 69.3 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.
- Image Credit:
-
NASA/GSFC/METI/ERSDAC/JAROS, and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team
Image Addition Date:
-
2001-10-22
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