PHOTO INDEX OF PRIMARY TARGETS ASTEROIDS COMETS EARTH JUPITER KUIPER BELT MARS MERCURY METEORITES NEPTUNE OORT CLOUD PLUTO SATURN SOLAR SYSTEM SPACE SUN URANUS VENUS OTHER PHOTO INDEXES ALL TARGETS PHOTO CATEGORIES SCIENCEVIEWS BIRDS BUGS FOSSILS INDIAN MAMMALS OTHER PARKS PLANTS REPTILES ROCKS & MINERALS

Dune fields, Namibian Coastal Desert Target Name:   Earth Spacecraft:   Space Shuttle Produced by:   LPI/NASA Cross Reference:   41D-45-035 Related Document Earth From Space Download Options Name Type Width x Height Size dune.gif GIF The arid coastal plain that forms the Namib Desert extends the entire length of the Atlantic coast of South West Africa, a total of more than 800 kilometers (497 miles). Its width varies between 40 and 140 kilometers (25 and 87 miles). The intricate pattern of large sand dunes is caused mainly by dry westerly winds cooled by the offshore Benguela current. Some of the dunes are extremely large, exceeding 300 meters (984 feet). Running diagonally downward from the upper right corner is a dune-free tongue of alluvial gravel known as the Sossusvlei. This is formed by occasional flash floods draining from the barren, rocky hills on the right of the picture. (Courtesy LPI/NASA. Picture 41D-45-053)

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