April 8, 2022 - Wet Season in Namibia and Angola

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Iona National Park
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On April 6, 2022, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer
(MODIS) on board NASA’s Terra satellite acquired a true-color image of
the stunning, rugged landscape of southwestern Africa near the end of
the wet season. The contrasts in landforms and ecosystems are stark in
both southwestern Angola and northwestern Namibia. Along the South
Atlantic coast, the bone-dry and supremely sand-filled Namib Desert
merges with Angola’s Kaokoveld Desert to create a vast swath of
camel-colored tan. Moving inland, a wash of green marks the moister
regions of a rapidly-rising escarpment, topped with dark brown and
ochre rocky outcroppings. Further north rich greens mark heavier
vegetation—and an ecosystem that does not strictly rely on the rainy
season to coax vegetation into existence as happens in the drier
locations.

A sinuous green line splits the coastal desert in two as it drops from
the Angolan escarpment to reach the South Atlantic Ocean. This is the
Kunene River (Cunene River), which rises from the highlands in Angola
and flows southward to the border with Namibia. There it turns
westward, creating a green oasis along its banks as well as marking the
border between Angola (north) and Namibia. The Kunene, which appears
full and vibrant in this rainy-season image, is one of the very few
perennial rivers in this region.

The extremely arid deserts in this region are ancient as well as
inhospitable. Despite their extreme temperatures and almost complete
lack of moisture year-round, they are fascinating places. Much of these
deserts have been preserved as national parks, not only for their human
history but especially because the ecosystems found here support unique
species of plants, reptiles, bird, marine life, and mammals.

Iona National Park sits at the northern tip of the Namib Desert in
southwestern Angola. This special section of the Namib is known as the
Moçâmedes Desert and is said to be the oldest desert in the world. Iona
National Park is one of the largest parks in Angola, and, when combined
with the Namib-Naukluft National Park in Namibia, is also part of the
largest trans-frontier conservation areas in the world. This
conservation area has high endemism, with many of the reptiles, plant,
and bird species found only here. Some interesting species include the
South African oryx, springbuck, Hartmann’s zebra, ostrich, cheetah,
leopard, and brown hyena. Iona National Park has been recognized at an
“Important Bird Area” by BirdLife International, with more than 150
species identified.

Image Facts
Satellite: Terra
Date Acquired: 4/6/2022
Resolutions: 1km (62.9 KB), 500m (158 KB), 250m (349 KB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit: MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC



https://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/individual.php?db_date=2022-04-08

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