Less than 5 percent of Algeria’s land surface is suitable for growing crops, and most precipitation falls on the Atlas Mountains along the coast. Inland, dust-laden winds blow over rocky plains and sand seas. However, in north central Algeria—off the tip of Grand Erg Occidental and about 450 kilometers (280 miles) south of Algiers—lies a serpentine stretch of vegetation. It is the M’zab Valley, filled with palm groves and dotted with centuries-old settlements.
The Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) on NASA’s Terra satellite captured this image of M’zab Valley on February 9, 2011. ASTER combines infrared, red, and green wavelengths of light. Bare rock ranges in color from beige to peach. Buildings and paved surfaces appear gray. Vegetation is red, and brighter shades of red indicate more robust vegetation.
This oasis results from water that is otherwise in short supply in the Sahara Desert, thanks to the valley’s approximately 3,000 wells. Chemical analysis of Algerian aquifers, as well studies of topography in Algeria and Tunisia, suggest this region experienced a cooler climate in the late Pleistocene, and potentially heavy monsoon rains earlier in the Holocene. The M’zab region shows evidence of meandering rivers and pinnate drainage patterns. The vegetation lining M’zab Valley highlights this old river valley’s contours.
Cool summer temperatures and monsoon rains had long since retreated from the region by eleventh century, but this valley nevertheless supported the establishment of multiple fortified settlements, or ksours. Between 1012 A.D. and 1350 A.D., locals established the ksours of El-Atteuf, Bounoura, Melika, Ghardaïa, and Beni-Isguen. Collectively these cities are now a United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage site.
Because of the angle of sunlight, this image may cause an optical illusion known as relief inversion.
NASA Earth Observatory image by Robert Simmon and Jesse Allen, using data from the GSFC/METI/ERSDAC/JAROS, and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team. Caption by Michon Scott.
