Makhtesh Ramon

Makhtesh Ramon lies in Israel's Negev Desert about 85 kilometers south of Beersheba, an erosion cirque some 40 kilometers long, 2 to 10 kilometers wide and up to 500 meters deep. Hundreds of millions of years ago the Tethys Ocean covered the area before retreating north and leaving a hump-shaped hill, which water and climate gradually wore flatter; around 5 million years ago the formation of the Arava Rift Valley redirected local rivers, which cut down through softer rock layers faster than the surrounding walls eroded, deepening the crater into its present form. The site exposes a wide range of rock, including colorful red and yellow clay hills, limestone, basalt from ancient volcanic activity, and columnar jointed sandstone, with rock at the crater floor dating to roughly 200 million years old. Despite its crater-like shape, Makhtesh Ramon is neither an impact crater nor a volcanic feature; the Hebrew word makhtesh names this specific kind of erosion cirque, a landform created purely by water and erosion rather than impact or eruption. This entity documents Makhtesh Ramon specifically as a geological formation.