|
Niger River after the Rainy Season |
 |
|
|
Niger River after the Rainy Season |
|
The third largest river in Africa, the Niger, forms an inland delta in central Mali. This Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) image from Terra orbit 4603 on October 29, 2000, shows the region as it appears after the rainy season, when the delta is flooded. The image covers an area measuring about 400 kilometers x 450 kilometers.
In a remote area to the southeast of the delta, the sandstone cliffs of the Bandiagara Escarpment are inhabited by the Dogon people. The Dogon are renowned for the architecture of their cliff-side dwellings, and their homes are typically built with materials from the surrounding environment: mud-brick and sandstone, small amounts of wood, and straw for the thatch roofs. Most of the Dogon (about 65%) have retained their animist religion, and the making of masks for ceremonial purposes continues to this day. They are an agrarian people, and utilize a number of ingenious soil and water conservation techniques to grow millet and sorghum for subsistence, as well as onions for a cash crop. Several writers, inspired by the studies of the French anthropologist Marcel Griaule, attribute the Dogon with incredibly detailed knowledge of the Sirius A/B binary star system.
The city of Timbuktu (also known as Tombouctou) is situated near the top of the image, where the Niger River changes direction to flow more directly eastward. Six hundred years ago, Timbuktu was a central part of the trans-Saharan caravan route, and was a center of wealth, culture, and scholarly learning. When the inland route gave way to trade by ship, the city was abandoned and began to acquire its out-of-the-way reputation. Today, drifting sands driven by dry Saharan winds threaten to encroach upon the city's monuments.
Image credit: NASA/GSFC/LaRC/JPL, MISR Team.
