Winds shape the sands that were left behind by an ancient river.
Published Jun 4, 2012
This astronaut photograph shows classic large and small sand masses of the central Sahara Desert, where wind is a more powerful land-shaping agent than water.
Published Jan 19, 2009
In a land with little water, the wind does the landscaping most of the time. Ephemeral water leaves a mark, though.
Published Jul 29, 2018
A slight rise of rocky land interrupts the linear dunes of the Empty Quarter.
Published Apr 22, 2012
Sand dunes and outcrops add color and dimension across the Namib Sand Sea.
Published Jan 13, 2020
White sand dunes spill across the Snake River Plain in a wide arc in this detailed, photo-like image acquired by the Advanced Land Imager on NASA’s EO-1 satellite on September 25, 2010.
Published Sep 29, 2010
The Ar Rub’ al Khali, or Empty Quarter, covers much of the south-central portion of the Arabian Peninsula and is the largest continuous sand desert on Earth.
Published May 30, 2011
Layers of dunes march across a sand sea in the east-central Tenéré Desert of Niger in this astronaut photo from December 1, 2009.
Published Dec 28, 2009
A plume of black smoke blowing westward is silhouetted against linear dunes in the great sand sea of northeast Libya. Smoke from flares at remote well heads is commonly seen by astronauts flying over the Sahara Desert. The plume dispersal pattern visible at the left edge of the image may be due to upper-level winds or gravitational settling of heavier particulates.
Published Dec 27, 2004
