[Qgis-user] Background raster image at circa 1:10 million?

[Martin Pescador]

I wish to prepare a simple small-scale map of part of Mongolia, to 
illustrate the location of some study sites. To provide some background 
context I would like to use a raster image such as that provided by 
provided by, or from, satellite data.  Something similar to the Natural 
Earth raster layers would be fine. Unfortunately, the Natural Earth data 
at 1:10 million is too coarse for my purposes as my map will be c. 1:1 
million.

I have tried using the free Landsat data available from USGS but I am 
not familiar with the myriad of possibilities available or how to turn a 
downloaded image into something I can use. Could anybody more 
knowledgeable than myself point me in the direction of any useful raster 
geotiff images that could fit my purpose, or to instructions of how to 
turn landsat images into something I can use?

With grateful thanks! Martino