Wuwei, Gansu Province, CHINA.
Abandoned village in one of China's major sandstorm heartland. Low annual rainfall and high evaporation rates make this one of the driest places on earth. The desert, which already occupies more than 30% of Gansu, is expanding. An ever-growing population is converting land for agriculture, destroying trees and other natural vegetation, overusing groundwater, and building reservoirs to supply water for towns and irrigated agriculture.Compounding the problems are overgrazing, the use of wood as domestic fuel, and cultivation of crops that consume a lot of water. Water levels in the area have dropped from 8 to 12 meters below ground level in the 1950s to as much as 100 meters now.