Aerial view of Wau al Namus, (Wau means hole, so Wau al Namus is hole of mosquitos). This massive (and apparently dormant) volcano can be easily seen in satellite views of Southern Libya, as a large black smear in the wind-scoured sands of the Sahara. The inner crater is bordered by a chain of small salt lakes which are sumps for the springs of seemingly potable spring waters that feed the crater's vegetation. Outside the outer rim of the crater are small black dunes of windblown volcanic ejecta. The winds here were very strong, at sunrise they were averaging over 60 kph at 300m above the rim of the outer crater, and about 20 kph at ground level.
- Filename
- STNMTZ_20081116_1006.tif
- Copyright
- ©2009 George Steinmetz
- Image Size
- 5616x3744 / 60.2MB
- Contained in galleries
- Desert Air