Erg Iguidi, Algeria

 

Erg Iguidi is one of several Sahara ergs, or ever-changing seas of sand that stretch from Algeria to Mauritania. It is an area of ​​ever-shifting sand dunes that can exceed 500m in width and height – nearly one-third of a mile –in a flat area of ​​desert with little or no vegetation cover.

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What looks like pale yellow streaks slashing through a mosaic of mottled colors are ridges of wind-blown sand that form the Erg Iguidi. The center and upper right corner of the satellite image show a black sandstone rock. The light blue and white areas are limestone deposits and salt crusts left behind after evaporation of water in the area.

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Image taken in

April 8, 1985

LandSat 5