Arid Coastal Plain, Southern Somalia, Africa

STS054-152-001 (13-19 Jan 1993) --- View southeastward across the northern, arid coastal plain of Somalia from Dhul Hafun (Hafun Peninsula) on the extreme left to Ras (Cape) Illig on the extreme right. There are no good harbors, no permanent streams, and few people in this 200-mile-wide expanse of dry coastal Plain. The cloud line offshore marks the limit of offshore breeze, and provides a partial explanation of the lack of rain in this region.