Update: This Landsat image shows dried lakes on the Tibetan plateau in 1994. Congratulations to David Alegre and James Varghese for being the first readers to identify the location. Read more about how lakes have expanded in this area in “A Proliferation of Lakes on the Tibetan Plateau.”
Every month on Earth Matters, we offer a puzzling satellite image. The February 2025 puzzler is shown above. Your challenge is to use the comments section to tell us where it is, what we are looking at, and why it is interesting.
How to answer. You can use a few words or several paragraphs. You might simply tell us the location, or you can dig deeper and offer details about what satellite and instrument produced the image, what spectral bands were used to create it, or what is compelling about some obscure feature. If you think something is interesting or noteworthy, tell us about it.
The prize. We cannot offer prize money or a trip on the International Space Station, but we can promise you credit and glory. Well, maybe just credit. Within a week after a puzzler image appears on this blog, we will post an annotated and captioned version as our Image of the Day. After we post the answer, we will acknowledge the first person to correctly identify the image at the bottom of this blog post. We also may recognize readers who offer the most interesting tidbits of information. Please include your preferred name or alias with your comment. If you work for or attend an institution that you would like to recognize, please mention that as well.
Recent winners. If you have won the puzzler in the past few months, or if you work in geospatial imaging, please hold your answer for at least a day to give less experienced readers a chance.
Releasing comments. Savvy readers have solved some puzzlers after a few minutes. To give more people a chance, we may wait 24 to 48 hours before posting comments. Good luck!
The Satellite picture you show is the Yurba Co, Nyima Country in China. It is located southwest of the Zhenquan Lake also in china.
Aral Sea
35°51’19.0″N 86°15’13.2″E We are looking at a satellite image of the region south of the Taklamakan Desert in Xinjiang and Tibet in China. The two large lakes – Yurba Co and Changhong are rare oases in an extreme, arid landscape sustained by glacial meltwater from the Kunlun Mountains. These ephemeral lakes fluctuate seasonally, with high salinity and unique hydrology, making them scientifically valuable for studying extremophiles and climate change. Historically, the region was linked to the ancient Silk Road, with nearby lost cities buried in shifting sands. Their remoteness and pristine nature also make them an important site for ecological and geological research. Most probably, the satellite imagery was acquired by Landsat 9.
I think this photo was taken in the Patagonia region, Argentina.
Sahara Desert