Every spring, Africa's Zambezi River swells with seasonal rain, causing the river to overflow into its broad floodplains. This year was no exception. When the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Aqua satellite passed Namibia's Caprivi Strip on 13 May 2014, it captured imagery showing widespread flooding.

In this false-colour image, which was made with both infrared and visible light, floodwater appears black. Vegetation is bright green, and bare ground is brown. For comparison, another image is available, showing the same area on 21 February 2014.

View the full resolution image.

Credit: NASA Earth Observatory