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Inakashaker (named after a kind of locally-found bush in Tuareg language), an area of beautifully eroded rock five hours drive SE of Tamanrasset, in the Tassili du Hoggar.

Travel

Desert Air

Photographer George Steinmetz flies a motorized paraglider over deserts around the world to capture these incredible shots, from China to Africa to Antarctica. He has been taking the stunning photos for the last 15 years, now compiled in the beautiful book 'Desert Air.'

/ 11 PHOTOS

Desert Air

George Steinmetz

Empty Quarter, Saudi Arabia

George Steinmetz
Altiplano

Laguna Colorada, Bolivia

Aerial views of Laguna Colorada, which is red due to natural hot springs which provide nutrients for red algae to bloom. The lake has a number of small islets of borax, as well as the largest population of flamingoes of any Altiplano lake. There are three species of flamingoes here: Andean, Chilean, and James.
George Steinmetz
Altiplano

Pomerape and Parinacota volcanos, Bolivia

\"Nieves penitentes\" or penitente ice at approx. 19,000 ft on south side of Volcan Pomerape. This unusual ice form is found primarily in the high-altitude deserts of the Andes and Himalaya. It gets its name from the spiky form resembling hands held together in form of prayer, and is caused by a combination of melting and sublimation (ice evaporating without intermediate phase of water). In the background is glacier-capped Volcan Parinacota, el. 6342m.. The elevation of permanent snow cover on these Andean peaks has been rising dramamtically in the past few decades due to accelerated climatic change
George Steinmetz
Like a mosaic laid in the hard floor of the desert, pools of evaporating salt water are worked over by the people of Teguidda-n-Tessoumt.  Briny water is drawn from shallow wells and mixed with salty soil to produce slurries of different colors, whos hue depends on the color of the mud, algae, as well as the amount of salt which has hardened on the surface.

Teguidda-n-Tessoumt, Niger

Like a mosaic laid in the hard floor of the desert, pools of evaporating salt water are worked over by the people of Teguidda-n-Tessoumt. Briny water is drawn from shallow wells and mixed with salty soil to produce slurries of different colors, whos hue depends on the color of the mud, algae, as well as the amount of salt which has hardened on the surface.
George Steinmetz
Small huts dot the sandy peninsulas, which extend out into Ounianga Kebir (also known as Lake Yoa) in Northern Chad. The people here live off the date palms, which line the shore of this hyper-saline lake. The fresh water comes from rains that fell some 6,000 years ago, when the Sahara was a much wetter place, and was stored in a large aquifer of Nubian Sandstone, which underlies the Central Sahara. It comes to the surface at this break in the cliffs, and seeps out at the lakeshore. The date palms line the shore, with their feet in the fresh water, and their trunks bending out over the sterile waters of the lake. The heat and strong wind cause a high rate of evaporation that has turned the potable ground water into a lake that is saltier than sea water, and devoid of fish.

Ounianga Kebir, Chad

Small huts dot the sandy peninsulas, which extend out into Ounianga Kebir (also known as Lake Yoa) in Northern Chad. The people here live off the date palms, which line the shore of this hyper-saline lake. The fresh water comes from rains that fell some 6,000 years ago, when the Sahara was a much wetter place, and was stored in a large aquifer of Nubian Sandstone, which underlies the Central Sahara. It comes to the surface at this break in the cliffs, and seeps out at the lakeshore. The date palms line the shore, with their feet in the fresh water, and their trunks bending out over the sterile waters of the lake. The heat and strong wind cause a high rate of evaporation that has turned the potable ground water into a lake that is saltier than sea water, and devoid of fish.
George Steinmetz
Star dunes in Ramlat Fasad, where Wadi Shihan sinks in to the sands of Omani Empty Quarter.

Empty Quarter, Oman

Star dunes in Ramlat Fasad, where Wadi Shihan sinks in to the sands of Omani Empty Quarter.
George Steinmetz / George Steinmetz.com
Salt Deserts of Iran

Dasht-e Lut, Iran

Mega-dunes of the Dasht-e Lut.; These are the largest and tallest dune field in Iran, reaching over 300M in height and covering an area approx. 50 X 150 Km.. The dunes appear to be the resting place for all the sand and silt excavated by winds that carved the adjacent Dast-e Lut yardang field.;
George Steinmetz
Jordanian shore of the Dead Sea near Zara spring, where waves have left a thick layer of salt crystals and stalactites.

Dead Sea, Jordan

Jordanian shore of the Dead Sea near Zara spring, where waves have left a thick layer of salt crystals and stalactites.
George Steinmetz
Inakashaker (named after a kind of locally-found bush in Tuareg language), an area of beautifully eroded rock five hours drive SE of Tamanrasset, in the Tassili du Hoggar.

Tassili Du Hoggar, Algeria

Inakashaker (named after a kind of locally-found bush in Tuareg language), an area of beautifully eroded rock five hours drive SE of Tamanrasset, in the Tassili du Hoggar.
George Steinmetz

'Desert Air'

George Steinmetz
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