Democratic Republic of Congo

An area in the northwest of the Democratic Republic of Congo is pictured in this image taken on 26 June 2011 by the French SPOT-4 satellite. Most of the lighter green areas are deforested, while the darker green are areas of dense – and possibly natural – vegetation. The lines cutting through the image are roads, many with structures built along them. Clusters of purple dots are larger settlements. A river snakes through the upper part of the image and below it there appears to be a square in light green. Judging by the precision of the outline, we can deduce that this is a patch of land that was either intentionally spared from deforestation or has been reforested.

This image is featured on the Earth from Space video programme.