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, 2009A fracking-fueled demand for round and durable sand has triggered a mining boom in the western part of the state.
Published Mar 14, 2018Namibia’s sea of sand is bounded on its northern side by the impermanent Kuiseb River.
Published Jan 2, 2020Intensive sand mining has dramatically changed the northern branch of China’s largest freshwater lake.
Published Mar 18, 2016Sand dunes and outcrops add color and dimension across the Namib Sand Sea.
Published Jan 13, 2020Winds shape the sands that were left behind by an ancient river.
Published Jun 4, 2012In a land with little water, the wind does the landscaping most of the time. Ephemeral water leaves a mark, though.
Published Jul 29, 2018Layers 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, 2009Despite efforts by local officials, the desert continues its advance.
Published Feb 19, 2017Scattered in a sea of sand, inselbergs in Namibia host ecology uniquely influenced by fog.
Published Sep 4, 2018The 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, 2011White 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