February 8, 2023 - Alashan Plateau

Alashan Plateau
Tweet
Share

The rarely-visited, remote semi-desert region known as the Alashan
Plateau sits tucked between China’s Tibetan Plateau and Mongolia’s
Altai Mountains. The arid region is almost Texas-sized, covering about
260,000 square miles (673,400 square kilometers). With more than 50
percent of the land covered in bare or barely-vegetated soil, and
annual average precipitation of only 95 mm (3.7 inches), the dry, sandy
Alashan Plateau provides a rich source for frequent dust storms.

Despite the harsh, cold, and arid climate, the region is known for
biodiversity, providing home for several endangered species such the
snow leopard, Bactrian camel, Sakar falcon, and Mongolian marmot. The
Alashan Plateau is also famous as the home for the Earth’s tallest sand
dunes. The dunes in the Badain Jaran Desert, which is located at the
base of the Yabrai Shan massif, rise up to 480 meters (1,575 feet).

On February 6, 2023, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer
(MODIS) on board NASA’s Terra satellite acquired a true-color image of
the glorious sand dunes rippling across the Badian Jaran Desert on the
Alashan Plateau. The giant granitic Yabrai Shan massif can be seen in
the lower right section of the image.

Image Facts
Satellite: Terra
Date Acquired: 2/6/2023
Resolutions: 1km (74.1 KB), 500m (221.3 KB), 250m (486.8
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=2023-02-08

--- up 49 weeks, 2 days, 21 minutes
* Origin: -=> Castle Rock BBS <=- Now Husky HPT Powered! (1:317/3)