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  Image: Geographic Location Direction Photo #: ISS065-E-23018 Date: May 2021
Geographic Region: MONGOLIA
Feature: ULAAGCHIIN KHAR LAKE, FROZEN LAKE, DUNES

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  View Low-Resolution Image  
  A Meeting of Ice and Dunes

Long shadows creep across Ulaagchinii Khar Nuur in this sunrise photo taken from the International Space Station by an astronaut. The shadows accentuate the topography in and around the lake, including the Big and Small Avgash Islands. Cracks permeate the ice-covered surface of the lake, and dunes skirt the shore. The cold, flat ice surface contrasts with the distinctive, rolling waves of sand dunes. While typically associated with hot climates, dunes can form in all deserts, including the cold steppe of western Mongolia.

Though located in Mongolia's Great Lakes Depression, the water surface of Khar Nuur Lake is still more than 1900 meters (6,400 feet) above sea level. Due to the high altitude and location, temperatures in the freshwater lake (//mongolija.upese.lt/index.php/en/lakes) dip below freezing for most of the winter months. Situated in central Asia between China and Russia, Mongolia sits in the subarctic zone where cold air from Siberia extends winter climate patterns well into April.

Khar Nuur is within the Ulaagchinii Khar National Park, which is part of the Eurasian Steppe that stretches from eastern Europe almost to the Pacific Ocean. Steppe regions are home to many vulnerable animals, including a variety of threatened bird species (//datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/ulaagchinii-khar-lake-iba-mongolia) protected within Ulaagchinii Khar.

 
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Images: All Available Images Low-Resolution 410k
Mission: ISS065  
Roll - Frame: E - 23018
Geographical Name: MONGOLIA  
Features: ULAAGCHIIN KHAR LAKE, FROZEN LAKE, DUNES  
Center Lat x Lon: 48.4N x 96.1E
Film Exposure:   N=Normal exposure, U=Under exposed, O=Over exposed, F=out of Focus
Percentage of Cloud Cover-CLDP: 10
 
Camera: N8
 
Camera Tilt: 21   LO=Low Oblique, HO=High Oblique, NV=Near Vertical
Camera Focal Length: 1150  
 
Nadir to Photo Center Direction: W   The direction from the nadir to the center point, N=North, S=South, E=East, W=West
Stereo?:   Y=Yes there is an adjacent picture of the same area, N=No there isn't
Orbit Number:  
 
Date: 20210506   YYYYMMDD
Time: 223754   GMT HHMMSS
Nadir Lat: 49.0N  
Latitude of suborbital point of spacecraft
Nadir Lon: 97.4E  
Longitude of suborbital point of spacecraft
Sun Azimuth: 70   Clockwise angle in degrees from north to the sun measured at the nadir point
Space Craft Altitude: 224   nautical miles
Sun Elevation: 5   Angle in degrees between the horizon and the sun, measured at the nadir point
Land Views:  
Water Views:  
Atmosphere Views:  
Man Made Views:  
City Views:  
Photo is not associated with any sequences


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