File:Indus River Delta and Rann of Kutch (MODIS 2024-05-28).jpg

English: On May 23, 2024, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite acquired a false-color image of the coastline of the Arabian Sea in Pakistan and India. The major natural features captured in this image are the Indus Delta and the Rann of Kutch.

In this type of false-color image vegetation appears green, open land looks tan or brown, and water takes on blue tones, with the deepest water appearing darkest. Highly reflective areas, such as snow or mineral deposits, look white. However, salt flats that are moisture-laden take on an electric blue shade.

The Indus Delta is the termination of the Indus River system, which is one of the largest river systems on Earth. It flows about 2,900 km (1,800 miles) from Tibet, through the Himalayas, and snakes through Pakistan to deposit water and sediment into the Arabian Sea. Over millions of years, the Indus has slowly built a massive delta that stretches across southern Pakistan. The Indus Delta is an incredibly biodiverse region, containing wetlands and massive mangrove forests. In this image, the Delta appears blue green thanks to the presence of both water and vegetation while the floodplain of the Indus River is tinted with light green vegetation.

Situated east of the Indus Delta, the Rann of Kutch straddles the border between Pakistan and India. Most of this narrow salt flat, which stretches inland in almost a straight line for 325 kilometers (200 miles), is located in India. Rann comes from a Hindi word meaning desert, and the region is famous for its moist and marshy salt flats. These become dry and glistening snow white when the flood waters of the summer monsoon dry up in hot weather.