The Kutch district of northwest India - Earth.com

The Kutch district of northwest India Today’s Image of the Day from NASA Earth Observatory features the Kutch district of northwest India, which appears drastically different over the course of a year. 

The northern salt deserts of the district are hot, dry plains for half of the year. But then, summer monsoons transform the deserts into lush green wetlands with an abundance of wildlife. 

The  district contains one of the largest salt deserts in the world – the Rann of Kutch. During monsoons, the Rann is flooded with salty water from the Arabian Sea. Kutch district is a district of Gujarat state in western India, with its headquarters at Bhuj. Covering an area of 45,674 km², it is the largest district of India. The population of Kutch is about 2,092,371. It has 10 Talukas, 939 villages and 6 Municipalities. The Kutch district is home to the Kutchi people who speak the

When the water retreats, salt farmers dig wells and pump groundwater into fields where salt crystals are evaporated out.

The image shows the Kutch district on October 7, 2020, near the end of monsoon season. The false-color photo was captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua and Terra satellite. 

According to NASA, water appears navy blue and black, vegetation is bright green, and the cyan and white are clouds or bright surfaces, most likely salt pans.

Image Credit: NASA Earth Observatory 

By Chrissy Sexton, Earth.com Staff Writer

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