Origin of Mojave Desert dust plumes photographed from space

Six dust plumes, arising from a Santa Ana wind and covering an area of 1,700 km 2 of the western Mojave Desert, were photographed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration LANDSAT/ERTS-1 satellite on January 1,1973. The cause of the erosion was identified as man9s destabilization of the natural surface through road-building, agriculture, urbanization, stream-channel modification, and off-road vehicle recreation. The extensive, and growing, destabilization of the California desert surface provides for ever-increasing dust yield in storms of the future.