Lineament analysis of mineral areas of interest in Afghanistan

This digital dataset presents lineaments for selected mineral areas of interest (Peters and others, 2007) in Afghanistan. For this dataset, lineaments were to be defined as photolinear features that are possibly the result of underlying zones of high-angle bedrock fractures, fracture zones, faults, or bedding plane weaknesses. Mapped lineaments were derived from 30-meter (m) resolution, shaded relief, digital elevation models (DEM), illuminated from four angles, and from 14.25-m resolution natural coverage mosaic images for the entire country of Afghanistan. Visual interpretation of optical remote-sensing data can be subjective; however, criteria and procedures were followed to promote objective lineament rendering. The visual lineament surface expression can be caused by highlights and shadows, due to localized topographic relief, or by surface differences caused by natural vegetation growth or related soil tonal differences.