The Waterfalls of The Mekong River, Southern Lao Democratic Republic
11 December 2012

Note: The area of coverage in this Ikonos image is 2.50 km x 2.50 km.
The reduced resolution image on display has undergone compression and so does not represent the true resolution of the original satellite image.

The wide Mekong passes a series of volcanic islands in rapids and waterfalls north of the border with Cambodia. The image shows many cataracts, the vertical drop of water lit up in the sun. The water above the falls is fast-flowing, and with a greenish hue, same for the turbulent river downstream. Curving lines of trees indicate the presence of rock-forming islands, splitting the river into an anastomosing pattern. Near the falls, the rock is bare or under low vegetation, indicating the fluctuation of the height of the Mekong in different seasons. The river has exploited the structural features of the rock, forming narrow channels orthogonal to the main flow direction. The cascades also are probably the outcome of structural features in the rock. This series of cascades on the Mekong is one of tourist attraction in the south of the Lao Democratic Republic.