Satellite image of Ilha do Bananal's wetlands
The Araguaia River runs southward parallel to the Xingu River, cutting deep into the heart of the Brazilian rainforest. The Araguaia is the thin black ribbon entering this false-color image at the top, right side of the scene; the Xingu is the thin black ribbon toward the lefthand side. Heavy rains this year brought widespread flooding to the Ilha do Bananal wetland region, which is where many tributaries diverge from the Araguaia. This image was acquired by the Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), flying aboard NASAs Terra satellite, on February 18, 2002. The light green square patterns all across the landscape between the two rivers are areas of deforestation.