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A remarkably clear satellite image of northwestern Africa vividly displays the extent of the Sahara. To the north are the dark brown Atlas Mountains of Morocco, to the west is the Atlantic Ocean, and to the south is the semi-arid (light brown) Sahelian region. Mali extends across the arid desert, through the Sahelian region, and into a fertile southern Sudanese region. Photo courtesy of NASA.

A remarkably clear satellite image of northwestern Africa vividly displays the extent of the Sahara. To the north are the dark brown Atlas Mountains of Morocco, to the west is the Atlantic Ocean, and to the south is the semi-arid (light brown) Sahelian region. Mali extends across the arid desert, through the Sahelian region, and into a fertile southern Sudanese region. Photo courtesy of NASA.

This satellite photo shows dozens of fires burning in the African countries of Senegal (left) and Mali (right). To the north is Mauritania. Photo courtesy of NASA.

This satellite photo shows dozens of fires burning in the African countries of Senegal (left) and Mali (right). To the north is Mauritania. Photo courtesy of NASA.

In the middle of Mali, part of the landscape gleams like a giant emerald in the otherwise arid brown African Sahel. The gleaming jewel is the Inland Niger Delta. Fed by floodwaters from the Niger River, the Bani River, and a network of smaller streams, this inland delta grows to some 20,000 sq km (7,700 sq mi) during the four-month rainy season that begins each July. During the dry season, the inland delta can shrink to roughly 3,900 sq km (1,500 sq mi).

This satellite picture of the Inland Niger Delta was taken shortly after the end of the rainy season when the landscape remained lush and green. This inland delta is a complex combination of river channels, lakes, swamps, and occasional areas of higher elevation. One such elevated area is obvious in this image, and it forms a branching shape, like a tan tree pushing up toward the north. This wet oasis in the African Sahel provides habitat both for migrating birds and West African manatees. The fertile floodplains also provide much needed resources for the local people, who use the area for fishing, grazing livestock, and cultivating rice. Image courtesy of NASA.

In the middle of Mali, part of the landscape gleams like a giant emerald in the otherwise arid brown African Sahel. The gleaming jewel is the Inland Niger Delta. Fed by floodwaters from the Niger River, the Bani River, and a network of smaller streams, this inland delta grows to some 20,000 sq km (7,700 sq mi) during the four-month rainy season that begins each July. During the dry season, the inland delta can shrink to roughly 3,900 sq km (1,500 sq mi).

This satellite picture of the Inland Niger Delta was taken shortly after the end of the rainy season when the landscape remained lush and green. This inland delta is a complex combination of river channels, lakes, swamps, and occasional areas of higher elevation. One such elevated area is obvious in this image, and it forms a branching shape, like a tan tree pushing up toward the north. This wet oasis in the African Sahel provides habitat both for migrating birds and West African manatees. The fertile floodplains also provide much needed resources for the local people, who use the area for fishing, grazing livestock, and cultivating rice. Image courtesy of NASA.

Coursing through parched, landlocked Mali, the Niger River flows north through an ancient sand sea before turning sharply east to skirt the edge of the dune-striped Sahara; it then heads south, through Niger, Benin, and Nigeria, to the Gulf of Guinea. At the confluence of the Bani and Niger Rivers in Mali lies a vast Inner Niger Delta the size of Belgium and composed of narrows, twisting waterways, lagoons, and tiny islands (some of which are shown here). Due to evaporation and seepage in this area, the river loses two thirds of its potential flow. The Niger River's strange crescent-shaped route is believed to have been formed when two ancient rivers merged as the region dried. From the Niger's source near the coast to the bend, the Upper Niger once emptied into a now gone lake. In the hills near the ancient lake, the Lower Niger began and flowed south to the Gulf of Guinea. False-color image courtesy of USGS.

Coursing through parched, landlocked Mali, the Niger River flows north through an ancient sand sea before turning sharply east to skirt the edge of the dune-striped Sahara; it then heads south, through Niger, Benin, and Nigeria, to the Gulf of Guinea. At the confluence of the Bani and Niger Rivers in Mali lies a vast Inner Niger Delta the size of Belgium and composed of narrows, twisting waterways, lagoons, and tiny islands (some of which are shown here). Due to evaporation and seepage in this area, the river loses two thirds of its potential flow. The Niger River's strange crescent-shaped route is believed to have been formed when two ancient rivers merged as the region dried. From the Niger's source near the coast to the bend, the Upper Niger once emptied into a now gone lake. In the hills near the ancient lake, the Lower Niger began and flowed south to the Gulf of Guinea. False-color image courtesy of USGS.

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