This true-color Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) image from October 19, 2001, shows dozens of fires burning in the African countrie of Senegal (left) and Mali (right). North is Mauritania. In roughly the center of Mauritania, the dark brown area indicates the location of seasonal lakes and rivers--apparently dry at this time.
Image courtesy Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC