File:Moremi Game Reserve and Makgadikgadi Pans Game Reserve (MODIS 2017-08-23).jpg

English: The landlocked country of Botswana, situated in central southern Africa, has been called a “world of wilderness, wildlife, and wild places”. The celebration of nature is a core value, with more than seventeen percent of the country set aside in National Parks or Game Reserves. Other claims to fame are the arid Kalahari which sweeps across 80 percent of Botswana, diamond mining, thriving tourism, a growing economy, and a stable government.

On August 6, 2017, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard NASA’s Terra satellite acquired a true-color image of northern Botswana which features two striking Game Reserves: the Moremi (northwest) and the Makgadikgadi Pans (southeast). The tans in the southern section of the image marks the arid Kalahari Desert. The rugged land north of the two reserves is washed with the greens of vegetation and is home to Chobe National Park.

Moremi Game Reserve was established in 1963 and covers almost 1,900 square miles (5,000 sq. km). It sits on the eastern side of the Okavango Delta, where water from the Okavango River spills onto the dry Kalahari. The Okavango Delta was declared one of the “Seven Wonders of Africa” in 2013, and is also listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Moremi was the first reserve in Africa that was established by natives, the Batawana people of Ngamiland, who were concerned about the effect of uncontrolled cattle ranching and hunting on the native lands. It is home to a wide diversity of wildlife, including lion, leopard, spotted hyena, wild dog and cheetah.

The Makgadikgadi Pans form a very different ecosystem than the Okavango Delta, but their value to wildlife and human endeavors rest on a similar treasure – water. The Salt Pans are the remnants of an ancient lake, Lake Makgadikgadi. They form one of the larges salt flats in the world, stretching over an area of about 1,500 square miles (3,900 sq km). In the dry season, the pans are essentially salty desert, with very little water present. When rain falls, however, animals and birds flock to the pans in great numbers. Because the wet season is cyclic, the migration of many birds and animals, such as wildebeest, is timed to the filling of the pans with water. It is also one of only two breeding populations of Greater Flamingos in southern Africa.