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Download this image: Hi-Res JPEG (0.88 MB) Hi-Res TIFF (21.89
MB) The Sundarbans mangrove forest, one of the largest such
forests in the world (140,000 hectares), lies in the delta of
the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna rivers on the Bay of Bengal.
It is adjacent to the border of India’s Sundarbans World
Heritage site, established in 1987. The site is intersected by a
complex network of tidal waterways, mudflats and small islands
of salt-tolerant mangrove forests and presents an excellent
example of ongoing ecological processes. The area is known for
its wide range of fauna, including 260 bird species, the Bengal
tiger, and other threatened species such as the estuarine
crocodile and the Indian python. Changes in the course of the
major rivers and the evolution of the mangrove stands can be
monitored very effectively from space. In this false-colour
image, vegetation appears in different red t