Swamps and lakes in West Africa

The inland delta of the Niger River spreads across central Mali – a unique ecosystem in West Africa. A result of the Niger river flowing into the sandy Sahelian plains, this vast network of channels, swamps, and lakes mitigates the severity of the arid climate by supplying water during October and November (blue). In contrast the image shows the sparse rain fed vegetation in the surrounding region (dark green). This image is part of a new high-resolution map of vegetation across Earth’s entire landmasses generated with Copernicus Sentinel-2 data.