MSGID: 1:317/3 63d16e45   
   PID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   January 25, 2023 - Gorgeous Green along the Nile River   
      
      Nile   
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      Over the span of millennia, the Nile River has provided a critical   
      lifeline as it courses through some of the driest landscape on Earth.   
      
      Originating in the rivers that enter into Lake Victoria (located in   
      modern-day Uganda, Tanzania, and Kenya), the Nile flows northward for   
      more than 4,100 miles (6,600 km) through eastern Africa to end at the   
      Mediterranean Sea. The northern Nile passes through the Saharan Desert   
      in Egypt and Sudan, providing life-sustaining water for drinking,   
      agriculture, and fishing, as well as a means of transportation for   
      travel and commerce.   
      
      The profound effect of the Nile River and its annual flooding cycles   
      can be traced back to the language of ancient Egyptians, who are said   
      to have called the sandy desert the “red land”, while the rich and   
      moist floodplains along the river were called “black land”. Today, the   
      annual flooding cycles of the Nile, which brought water and nutrients   
      to enable extensive farming on the floodplains, have nearly become a   
      thing of the past, due to a series of dams that restrain the flow of   
      the Nile River. However, the contrast between the land touched by the   
      Nile’s waters and the nearby desert is still immense.   
      
      On January 24, 2023, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer   
      (MODIS) on board NASA’s Terra satellite acquired a true-color image   
      showing the life-giving power of the waters of the Nile River. A bright   
      ribbon of green vegetation decorates the entire length of the curving   
      river, it’s floodplains and tributaries, and any location touched by a   
      hint of rainfall (south). Away from the Nile, a vast area of desert   
      sands and rock outcroppings are washed in tans and browns, with little   
      or no vegetation visible.   
      
      The curving lake visible in the image is the Merowe Reservoir, created   
      by the building of the Merowe Dam by the government of Sudan.   
      Construction of the hydro-electric dam was completed in 2008, with the   
      official inauguration held in March 2009, after the reservoir was   
      completely filled.   
      
      Image Facts   
      Satellite:  Terra   
      Date Acquired: 1/24/2023   
      Resolutions:  1km (336.8 KB),  500m (822.2 KB),  250m (521.6   
      KB)   
      Bands Used: 1,4,3   
      Image Credit: MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC   
      
      
      
   https://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/individual.php?db_date=2023-01-25   
       
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