Lands of change

25 October 2013 - Lakes and mountains of western Uganda are captured in this Envisat radar image. The area pictured is part of the Albertine Rift, a branch of the East African Rift where the Somali Plate is splitting away from the rest of the continent. In the upper right corner is Lake George. With the equator running right through the middle, this body of water is recognised as a Wetland of International Importance by the Ramsar Convention, an intergovernmental treaty for the sustainable use of wetlands. Its waters flow into the Kazinga Channel - known for its high concentration of hippopotami and Nile crocodiles - and then empty into Lake Edward at lower left. The colours in the two lakes and connecting channel indicate changes in water level between acquisitions. On either side of the channel, large craters and crater-lakes dot the volcanic fields.