A stunning work of art, or an image of our beautiful planet? The transformative power of water, wind and gravity is on full display in this eye-catching satellite image of Iraq's Ga'ara Depression. Geologists call the rock at the bottom of the basin the Ga'ara Formation. It is made up of alternating layers of sandstone and soft claystone that formed roughly 300 million years ago, when the area was covered by a shallow sea. Later, types of carbonate rock (dolomite, limestone, and marl) were layered on top of the Ga'ara Formation, and the entire sequence of rock was gradually pushed up into a dome shape by tectonic forces. Our NASA_EO Landsat 8 acquired this image of the basin on August 27, 2017. It is derived from observations of shortwave infrared, near infrared and green light, a combination that makes it easier to distinguish different rock and soil types and to detect the presence of moisture. While geologists think rockslides and flowing water were especially influential in carv...