STS092-723-79 Click the photo number to access all resolutions available and the database record.
| STS-092 Earth Sciences and Image Analysis Photographic Highlights |
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| STS092-723-79 |
STS092-723-79 Click the photo number to access all resolutions available and the database record. |
| Gulf of Tadjourah, Djibouti: The Gulf of Tadjourah is in the Afar region of the Horn of Africa, where three great rift systems interact - the Gulf of Aden, Red Sea, and Ethiopian rifts; the Gulf is an extension of the Aden rift. Lake Assal (top center) occupies a rift valley and is the lowest point in Africa (168 m below sea level); a natural barrier of young lava flows (less than 0.3 million years old) keeps marine waters of the Gulf of Tadjourah from filling the depression. Sea water does occasionally spill into Lake Assal, then evaporates to leave highly reflective salt deposits on the lake floor, well below sea level. The dark, linear features in the lava fields are fault escarpments that cast shadows in the afternoon light; particularly good examples can be seen west (left) of Lake Assal. |
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This service is provided by the International Space Station program and the JSC Astromaterials Research & Exploration Science Directorate. Recommended Citation: Image Science and Analysis Laboratory, NASA-Johnson Space Center. "The Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth." . |
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