Chile’s Salar de Atacama has the world’s largest reserve of lithium, which is a key ingredient in rechargeable batteries.
Published Feb 9, 2019
A fertilizer extraction operation adds distinct color to the landscape.
Published Aug 7, 2017
This astronaut photo from December 15, 2009, shows evaporation ponds in the Atacama Desert, where brines are evaporated to concentrate lithium salts.
Published Jan 4, 2010
The complex of Jordanian salt evaporation ponds at the southern end of the Dead Sea has expanded significantly over the past dozen years. The western margin of the salt ponds marks the Jordan-Israel border. In August 1989, when the crew of Space Shuttle mission STS-28 photographed the region, the northern extension did not exist and the large polygonal ponds in the northwestern and northeastern sectors had not been subdivided. In the view taken by the STS-102 crew in March 2001, one can see that there has also been expansion at the southeastern end, and that levees now segment the northeastern wedge into four ponds.
Published May 13, 2001
Brilliant white in this true-color image, Argentina's Salar del Hombre Muerto is a high-altitude salt pan rich in minerals such as lithium.
Published May 26, 2009
Makgadikgadi Pan is one of the largest salt flats in the world.
Published Jul 1, 2019
A new study shows that winds are responsible for the widespread growth of ponds in three watersheds along the Mississippi River.
Published Jul 6, 2017
An astronaut’s lens captures the diversity of textures in a central Iranian landscape.
Published Jan 19, 2016
Even in China’s largest, driest, and hottest desert, vegetation sprouts in the spring.
Published May 5, 2020
In the Western Desert of Egypt, date and olive groves stand out alongside an ancient settlement.
Published Jun 20, 2016
Acquired March 2, 2011, this natural-color image shows dust hovering over the Taklimakan Desert.
Published Mar 2, 2011
Acquired August 28, 2010, this natural-color image shows a dust plume spanning hundreds of kilometers blowing eastward from the Taklimakan Desert.
Published Aug 26, 2010
Greenery sprouts from the Sahara Desert in Egypt thanks to the Nubian Sandstone Aquifer System.
Published Sep 18, 2017
Pioneering agricultural projects were planned to encourage people to leave the very heavily populated Nile Delta and to seek economic opportunities in the desert.
Published Dec 16, 2018
In Morocco, an expansive solar power complex begins to take shape at the “door of the desert.”
Published Jan 10, 2016
From space, a hint of green betrayed the revival of plant life.
Published Apr 2, 2017
Acquired October 22, 2010, this natural-color image shows dust over the eastern half of the Taklimakan Desert.
Published Oct 22, 2010
Linear dunes and ephemeral streams converge on the eastern margin of the Simpson Desert in a region known for its floods.
Published Sep 15, 2012
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