Sahara Desert from Above

March 20, 2007

Desert_12 copy

Provided and copyright by: Stuart Huyton, Moray's Astronomy Club, Sigma
Summary authors & editors: Stuart Huyton

The above photo showing the Sahara Desert in Algeria was taken from a small charter flight between Hassi Messaoud, in northeastern Algeria, and a desert well-site, just south of the Grand Erg Occidental. Our plane wasn't flying very high at this time (perhaps about 3,000 ft or 914 m). The linear tracks that can be seen (upper right) were made by vehichles laying out seismic lines to assist in oil exploration. This barren surface has been sculpted by wind and in some cases by rare flash floods. Note the drainage channels (wadis), which indicate the slope of the topography. Photo taken on January 14, 2004.

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