This image from the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission captures the coast of Gabon in striking colours.
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Gabon, in Equatorial Africa, shares borders with Cameroon, the Republic of the Congo and Equatorial Guinea, with its coast facing the Gulf of Guinea. Immense forests thrive in the country’s humid tropical climate, covering approximately 88% of Gabon. It is home to some of Africa’s most diverse rainforest and a haven for wildlife, including western lowland gorillas and the critically endangered forest elephants.
The country’s hot and humid climate also means that the region is often covered by clouds, making it difficult to acquire optical cloud-free views. This is where Sentinel-2’s instrument, with its 13 spectral channels, is able to help.
This false-colour image was generated using selected near-infrared and short-wave spectral bands to reduce haze and to enhance the variations in vegetation, moisture patterns and land cover with more contrasting colours compared to standard optical imagery.
This combination also shows clouds in varying colours from white to pink, depending on their altitude and on the amount of water droplet or ice particles within them. Water bodies, such as rivers and lakes, appear dark, while densely forested areas come up in orange.
The image clearly illustrates how the country’s geography is dominated by forests and by the Ogooué (Ogowe) River, visible running across the centre of the image. It flows westwards through Gabon, collecting water from numerous lakes along its course, before emptying into the Gulf of Guinea, where it forms a large delta.
Other than the water bodies, the image is predominantly orange, representing dense, undisturbed rainforest, with darker orange or brownish tones indicating more humid, low‑lying vegetation typically along the streams and in swampy areas. Yellow and acid‑green patches throughout the image usually denote grasslands or exposed bare soil.
Urban, built-up areas appear in shades of aquamarine. Near the Ogooué River delta lies Port Gentil, Gabon’s second city, located close to Cape Lopez, the nation’s most westerly point, which juts into the Atlantic Ocean. Gabon’s capital Libreville can be seen on the northern shore of the Gabon Estuary, the large inlet visible in the upper part of the image.