14 DAY TRIAL // Astronauts from the International Space Station (ISS) were recently able to capture this image of terminal Lake Fitri, in the southern sector of the Sahara Desert, Africa. The photo was snapped in January, and it displays a host of interesting properties associated with this landscape feature.
Due to the fact that only limited amounts of precipitations bless the Sahara annually, some of the rivers that occasionally form in this desert cannot reach the ocean. Instead, they stop in depressions such as low valleys, where they form terminal lakes such as Fitri.
What I find very interesting about this particular one is that it has a delta. The Wadi Batha river, flowing in from the top of the image, was able to use sediments to form a rather impressive delta over time. Other remarkable features the lake has include a bunch of inundated sand dunes (right of image).
The photo also confirms that climate change is indeed affecting the Sahara, too. The former edges of the lake are clearly visible in this photo. A significant portion of the lake floor is exposed, towards the lower center-left of this image.