August 31, 2022 - Liwa Oasis and the Rub' al Khali Desert

Liwa Oasis & Rub
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Liwa Oasis, a rich, green expanse of trees and towns, rises suddenly
from the vast expanse of dry, undulating, tan-toned desert of the
United Arab Emirates. Seen from space, this lush oasis forms the long
curving arc of the green “T” that sits at the northern edge of the
apricot-tinted dunes of the Rub’ Al Khali (Empty Quarter)—the Earth’s
largest uninterrupted desert. The long straight line of the “T” marks
greenery, including date trees, planted along highway E45.

Rainfall is scarce in the region, so the greenness of the Liwa Oasis
comes almost entirely from a water table that lies close to the
surface. This natural reservoir has been called “fossil” water, as some
estimates suggest it accumulated more than 20,000 years ago, with the
bulk of it now buried under limestone formations and sand.

The Liwa Oasis is the ancestral home of the Bani Yas tribe, the most
numerous and significant tribe in the United Arab Emirates, according
to the Abu Dhabi Culture website. In the past, the traditional practice
of the Bani Yas tribe was raising camels and other livestock, and
farming dates and other crops within the oasis. In the summer, they
would trek about 62 miles (100 km) to reach their fleets of boats along
the coast of the Persian Gulf to gather precious pearls. Pearl diving
was once the mainstay of the economy of the United Arab Emirates and
other Persian Gulf countries. According to Business Insider, pearl
exports made up 75 percent of the Persian Gulf’s exports at the end of
the 19th century. However, the onset of pearl farming in the 1930s
triggered a rapid decline of pearling in the Gulf.

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board
NASA’s Terra satellite acquired a true-color image of the green Liwa
Oasis amid the stunning orange-and-tan sands of the United Arab
Emirates on August 29, 2022.

Image Facts
Satellite: Aqua
Date Acquired: 8/29/2022
Resolutions: 1km (126.6 KB), 500m (325.8 KB), 250m (736.8
KB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit: MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC



https://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/individual.php?db_date=2022-08-31

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