Oil smoke in Southern Iraq. A rupture on a major oil pipeline in southern Iraq spilled a pool of oil over the desert on March 23, 2004. The oil quickly caught fire, and when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) flew over on the Terra satellite the next morning, the burning oil was sending great plumes of black smoke northwest over Iraq.
According to news reports, it’s not yet clear what caused the rupture, but it is probably a result of corrosion, not sabotage. Though the plume shrank and changed direction, black smoke was still visible in the region for several days after the fire began. In all of the MODIS scenes, fires are marked with red dots. Therefore Oil Smoke in Southern Iraq has become a common thig to happen.
Most geographers, including those of the Iraqi government. Also discuss the country’s geography in terms of four main zones or regions. Therefore the desert in the west and southwest; the rolling upland between the upper Tigris and Euphrates rivers. (in Arabic the Dijla and Furat, respectively)
Also the highlands in the north and northeast; and the alluvial plain through which the Tigris and Euphrates flow. Iraq’s official statistical reports give the total land area as 438,446 km2. (169,285 sq mi), whereas a United States Department of State publication gives the area as 434,934 km.
Credit: Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA/GSFC