File:The Aïr mountains in Niger (MODIS 2019-12-14).jpg
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Summary
[edit]DescriptionThe Aïr mountains in Niger (MODIS 2019-12-14).jpg |
English: Surrounded by the Sahara Desert, the domes of the Aïr Mountains rise suddenly and dramatically, appearing almost like an ochre island of rock amid a sea of swirling orange-tinged sand.
These stunning mountains were formed when magma flowed into pre-existing cracks and caverns in bedrock, creating dikes. In some places, bubbling magma formed hollow domes, some of which collapsed, leaving a circular crack, which was later filled with additional magma. This, in turn, created stunning, unusually oval or round geological features that are unique. Over time, these magma intrusions and the bedrock have been lifted, now sitting about 7,000 feet (2,000 meters) high. The rugged Aïr Mountain Range possesses a wide variety of habitats, including cliffs, canyons, valleys, watering holes, and plateau. The diversity of habitat gives shelter to about 40 species of mammal, 165 species of birds, and 18 species of reptiles. In 2013, these mountains were one of the last strongholds of the Addax, likely holding most of the world’s population of the critically endangered animals. Currently, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) estimates that there are only 30-90 of these animals left in the wild, and any sightings in these mountains have become very rare. On December 12, 2019, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA’s Aqua satellite acquired a beautiful true-color image of the Aïr Mountains of Niger. |
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Date | Taken on 12 December 2019 | ||
Source |
The Aïr mountains in Niger (direct link)
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Author | MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC |
This media is a product of the Aqua mission Credit and attribution belongs to the mission team, if not already specified in the "author" row |
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[edit]Public domainPublic domainfalsefalse |
This file is in the public domain in the United States because it was solely created by NASA. NASA copyright policy states that "NASA material is not protected by copyright unless noted". (See Template:PD-USGov, NASA copyright policy page or JPL Image Use Policy.) | ||
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