< STS091-717-48 >

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Spacecraft nadir point: 25.6° S, 13.2° E

Photo center point: 25.0° S, 15.5° E

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Nadir to Photo Center: East

Spacecraft Altitude: 204 nautical miles (378km)
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Image Caption:
STS091-717-48 Sossusvlei, Namib Desert.Sand dunes surrounding Sossusvlei, the termination of the Tsauchab, an intermittent stream in south-central Namib, Namibia. The Namib Desert is a cool coastal desert extending for 1,200 miles (1,900 kilometres) along the Atlantic coast from Namibe in Angola southward across Namibia to the Olifants River in the Cape Province of South Africa. It reaches inland 80 to 100 miles to the foot of the Great Escarpment. The southern portion merges with the Kalahari on the plateau atop the escarpment. Its name is derived from the Nama language, implying "an area where there is nothing." The dunes run in lines from north-northwest to south-southeast, with individual dunes having lengths of 10 to 20 miles and reaching heights of 200 to 800 feet. The troughs between these lines of dunes are interrupted by smaller transverse dunes. Average annual precipitation at the coast is generally about 0.5 inch (13 millimeters), increasing inland, until it reaches 2 inches at the foot of the escarpment.