Taklamakan desert river, GeoEye-1 satellite image. This area of the Taklamakan is near the oasis town of Niya, Xinjiang Province, China. The Taklamakan is one of the largest sandy deserts in the world, and settlements are mostly restricted to areas where water is available. Some fields are at lower centre, and erosion, river meandering, and fluvial features are seen in the surrounding landscape. Image data obtained on 6 October 2009. The US-operated GeoEye-1 satellite was launched in September 2008, and orbits at a height of 680 kilometres. It is the world's highest resolution commercial Earth-imaging satellite.