The eastern foothills of the Andes are important areas for Argentina’s agriculture, as rivers from the mountains are impounded to supply electricity and irrigation for crops. Many types of volcanic surfaces in this region shine in spite of their aridity. The peaks of the title are at low center, and have a unique gully pattern… Read more »
Marzuk
The constant wind of the central Sahara has clustered its moving sand in great oblate dunefields called Ergs. This one is in the southwestern corner of Libya, and is spilling downwind into a rift valley. This area was a populous node during pluvial times which were associated with the continental glacial advances. Several important archeological… Read more »
Brazos
From the Rio Grande to the Mississippi, the coast of Texas has a pleasing arch with plentiful barrier islands and lagoons, coastal marshes and swamps. Inland 100 miles, however, the flat plains and lazy river valleys climb into a rolling, dissected landscape. Local relief and choppiness are quite uniform over a wide area. High densities… Read more »
Balkan Parts
Centering on the lower Danube with its feathery tributaries, this palette was designed to isolate the tallest hills while staying fairly quiet and a bit on the sad side. Low seashores are made indistinct, and the gray tones are surprisingly readable in distinguishing the degree of local dissection. This is a topographically complex part of… Read more »
Land of Edges
More of the Colorado Plateau is found in Arizona than in any of the other four corner states. In this elevation graphic it forms a broad green platform for a variety of different mountain types: the massive volcanoes at lower right, the cone fields of the center, long mesas near the upper edge, and the… Read more »
Close to the New Lanes
Given the normally subdued appearance of bare, dry arctic terrain, it was exciting to discover these striated surfaces in the Bathurst Island area, similar to those found on the neighboring westward island of Melville. Still, the main emphasis of this piece was always the ice, its strong hue and glow. The path of new shipping… Read more »
Escarpments
The geometry of East Africa’s rift troughs seemed impossibly complex, until Shuttle-based elevation data allowed such views as this in 2005. From the north of Kenya to central Zimbabwe, rift trends cross and pass under each other like a roller coaster. Colors range from torrid down low to the moderate greens of the most temperate… Read more »
Greater Somalia
It used to be that the long slopes of this region were traversed by pastoralists in rhythm with seasonal cycles, so herds could take advantage of lowland wet-season production, and save the highland areas as dry season reserves. The post-colonial imposition of national boundaries made little sense ecologically. Chronic warfare has resulted in Eritrea, in… Read more »