Niger River in Mali

Niger River in Mali

Coursing through parched, landlocked Mali in Western Africa, the Niger River skirts the edge of the dune-striped Sahara before turning sharply south to join the Bani River. At the confluence of the two rivers is an inland delta complete with narrow, twisting waterways, lagoons, and tiny islands.

This scene was acquired by the ASTER instrument on NASA’s Terra satellite on August 2, 2003.

Image provided by the USGS EROS Data Center Satellite Systems Branch as part of the Earth as Art II image series