Resembling a Martian-like floor, this Copernicus Sentinel-2 picture reveals a part of the Hardap area in south-central Namibia on the western fringe of the Kalahari Desert.
Hardap is a sizzling and arid area, the place groundwater is troublesome to acquire. Its title displays the significance of the Hardap Dam, Namibia’s second largest dam, seen in blue within the centre of the picture. The varied blue hues denote the presence of sediment within the water.
With a floor space of 25 sq km, the dam provides electrical energy and water to the entire space and the reservoir is residence to quite a few examples of Namibia’s wildlife.
The dam controls the movement of the Fish River, which could be seen snaking its means throughout the picture. On this false-colour picture, captured on 28 August 2024, the Copernicus Sentinel-2’s near-infrared channel was used to spotlight vegetation in purple, which seems primarily concentrated south of the dam alongside the river.
Agricultural fields could be noticed on the floodplain under the dam, the place primarily greens and citrus fruits are grown. The totally different shades of purple present the state of the crops: the brighter the purple, the more healthy is the vegetation.
About 20 km southeast of the dam, on the japanese financial institution of the river, lies the city of Mariental, the area’s capital. Its city surroundings could be seen as a mix of purple and gray dots. Close to Mariental, the rocky plain of the Central Highland merges with the dry, sandy soil of the western limits of the Kalahari Desert.
The whole western Kalahari is characterised by lengthy chains of sand dunes. A few of these dunes could be seen in shades of yellow within the top-right nook and seem surprisingly parallel and uniform.
On the precise facet of the picture, the panorama is dotted with dry lake beds generally known as salt pans, seen as gleaming white circles.
Roads could be recognized as white traces reducing sharply throughout the panorama.
