Tan, linear dunes at image centre (on the south side of the Irtysh River) dominate the view. The dunes are formed from mobile barchan (crescent-shaped) dunes moving from left to right in this view. The barchans eventually merge to form the large, linear dunes which can reach 50 to 100 meters in height. Sand moving along the southern edge of the field appears to be feeding a south-eastern lobe with a separate population of linear dunes (image lower right).

The Burqin-Haba River-Jimunai Desert area also includes darker gravel-covered surfaces that form pavements known locally as gobi. At the resolution of an astronaut photograph, these are somewhat indistinguishable from the vegetated areas arresting some of the dunes. But gobi tend to be located on the flat regions between the dunes.