Radar Images and Geoarchaeology of the Eastern Sahara

The first Shuttle Imaging Radar (SIR-A) instrument was flown in earth orbit in November 1981. Data were obtained pertaining to a flat, sand-covered region in the eastern Sahara of North Africa. These data revealed courses of three channels or dry river courses varying in width from 8 to 20 km. This revelation increased interest in the geomorphology of desert regions and implications thereof to the geoarchaeology of prehistoric environments, particularly in southwestern Egypt.