*Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Kuwait University, College of Science,  P.O.Box: 5969, Safat  13060, Kuwait, e-mail:sarawi@wes.com.kw

** Center for Remote Sensing, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, U.S.A.

 ABSTRACT

Images by Landsat Thematic Mapper ( TM ) and Satellite Pour d’Observation de la Terre (SPOT) sensors provide a synoptic view, which allows the introduction of a new classification of the geomorphologic features of Kuwait. Using a variety of image enhancement techniques enables the delineation of the three major geomorphological surface deposits, which are: (1) fluvial deposits from the delta environment of the ancient Wadi Al-Batin river, (2) aeolian deposits in the form of dunes and/or flat sand sheets,  and (3) flat desert surfaces and evaporite deposits in inland and coastal sabkha.  This new classification allows relating the surface deposits to each other and to geomorphic controls that are responsible for their localization.

Keywords:  dune fields; fluvial deposits; geomorphic provinces; sand sheets; satellite