Salt Glaciers, Iran

Click on Image to Enlarge  (JPG) Salt Glaciers, Iran (236,626 bytes) ( 1,149 x 731 )

The diapirs, or salt plugs, in this image are a few of over 200 similar features scattered about this part of the Zagros Mountains in southern Iran. This region of folded rocks is the result of the collision between the Asian landmass and the Arabian platform. The deeper underlying deposits of salt have been reformed into ascending fluid-like, plastic plumes of salt. In some places these plumes have pushed through the overlying rock units, like toothpaste extruding from a tube, and are now visible as darkish irregular patches. Gravity has caused the salt to flow into adjacent valleys; the resulting tongue-shaped bodies, more than 5 km long, resemble glaciers, with arcuate ridges separated by crevasse-like gullies and with steep sides and fronts. The darker tones are due to clays brought up with the salt, as well as the probable accumulation of airborne dust. This ASTER perspective view was created by draping a band 3-2-1 (RGB) image over an ASTER-derived DEM (2x vertical exaggeration), was acquired on August 10, 2001, and is located at 27.4 degrees north latitude and 54.6 degrees east longitude.

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Salt Glaciers, Iran Type: (JPG) Size: (236,626 bytes) Resolution ( 1,149 x 731 )