English: In 1976, the Hamoun wetlands were still thriving.

Winding through the Dasht-e Mārgow (Margo desert), the Helmand forms a dendritic delta and dissipates in a series of “hamouns” (lagoons). Numerous seasonal rivers also converge into endorheic Sīstān basin. Water flows in a circular fashion through a string of lakes starting with Hāmūn-e Puzak in the northeast, sweeping into Hāmūn-e Sabari and finally overflows into Hāmūn-e Helman in southwest.

Dense reed beds appear as dark red, while tamarisk thicket fringing the margins of the upper lakes shows up as pink. Peppered bright red patches represent irrigated agriculture, mainly wheat and barley. The lakes flood to an average depth of half a meter denoted by lighter shades of blue, while dark blue to black indicates deeper waters not exceeding four meters.

Landsat MSS false colour composite created from a combination of the near-infrared, green and blue bands (bands 4, 2, and 1)