The western end of the Tarim Basin and the Taklimakan Desert, seen on July 23, 2014, by the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) on NASA's Terra satellite. The image is false-color infrared (bands 3, 2, 1). The light-colored ridges are active folds, caused by the collision between the Pamir Mountains to the south and the Tien Shan ranges to the north. The northern ridge is the Atushi Fold, and the southern, the Kashi Fold. Rivers cut through the folds in narrow gorges. The red areas are irrigated farmlands. Urban areas, including the city of Kashgar in the bottom right, are gray. Kashgar was an important stop on the Silk Road.