December 13, 2020 - Lake Turkana

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   Lake Turkana
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   Lake Turkana has been called “the lake that tells the story of
   humanity’s birth”. Seated in East Africa’s Rift Valley, the saline lake
   stretches for more than 154 miles (249 km) and measures only 27 miles
   (44 km) wide, providing scarce water resources in a very dry landscape.
   More than two million years ago, however, the lake was larger, and the
   surrounding countryside was more hospitable. Paleontologists have
   discovered fossils dated as early as 3.4 – 4.2 million years in the
   Turkana basin on the west side of today’s lake boundaries, which
   include ancient fish, turtles, rodents, horses, elephant, and primates,
   evidence of the abundant life found in this region in times past.

   In the 1960’s scientists began to work the fossil beds on the east side
   of the lake. Tools that showed the handiwork of humanity were found in
   sediment dated at 3.3 million years old. In 1972, a team lead by
   Richard Leakey discovered a skull and some bones that were subsequently
   dated back 1.9 million years. This early hominid, Homo rudolfensis, was
   just one of three hominid species that coexisted in this region between
   1.78 and 1.98 million years ago. In 1984 a nearly complete skeleton of
   a boy who lived between 1.5 and 1.6 million years ago was found near
   Lake Turkana. Known as Turkana Boy, he is one of the earliest Homo
   erectus known. The ancient sediments and sandstone of Lake Turkana have
   truly revealed much about our planet’s ancient history, and the dawning
   of our species.

   On December 10, 2020, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer
   (MODIS) on board NASA’s Aqua satellite acquired a true-color image of
   Lake Turkana. Sediment stains the waters, especially in the
   muddy-colored northern end. Lake Chew Bahir, the small lake northeast
   of Lake Turkana also is stained with sediment. Lake Chew Bahir and the
   northern tip of Lake Turkana sit in Ethiopia. The southern section of
   Lake Turkana belongs to Kenya.

   Image Facts
   Satellite:  Aqua
   Date Acquired: 12/10/2020
   Resolutions:  1km (73.1 KB),  500m (253.5 KB),  250m (782.1
   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=2020-12-13
 
