| Makhtesh Ramon | |
|---|---|
 The makhtesh is 40 km long, 2–10 km wide and 500 meters deep. | |
  Location of Maktesh Ramon | |
| Location | Southern,Israel |
| Coordinates | 30°34′43″N34°49′4″E / 30.57861°N 34.81778°E /30.57861; 34.81778 |
| Length | 40 km (25 mi) |
| Width | 2–10 km (1.2–6.2 mi) |
Makhtesh Ramon (Hebrew:מכתש רמון;lit. Ramon Crater/Makhtesh;Arabic:وادي الرمان;lit. The RumanWadi) is a geological feature ofIsrael'sNegev desert. Located some 85 km south ofBeersheba, the landform is the world's largest "erosion cirque" (steephead valley orbox canyon). The formation is 40 km long, 2–10 km wide and 500 meters deep. Despite its appearance it is not animpact crater from ameteor nor avolcanic crater formed by avolcanic eruption.
The only settlement in the area is the small town ofMitzpe Ramon (מצפה רמון, "Ramon Lookout") located on the northern edge of the depression. Today the area forms Israel's largestnational park, the Ramon Nature Reserve.
.jpg)
Hundreds of millions of years ago, the Negev was covered by theTethys ocean. Slowly, it started to recede northwards leaving behind a hump-shaped hill. The hump was slowly flattened by water and climatic forces. Approximately 5mya, theArava Rift Valley was formed, with rivers changing their courses, carving out the inside of the crater which was a softer rock than that overlying. The crater bottom continued to deepen at a much faster rate than the surrounding walls, which gradually increased in height. As the crater deepened, more layers of ancient rock were exposed with rocks at the bottom of the crater being up to 200 million years old. Today, the crater is 500 metres deep with the deepest point beingEin Saharonim [he] (Saharonim Spring). This spring serves as the sole natural water source within the crater, supporting a significant portion of its wildlife population, includingonagers andibex.
Makhtesh Ramon contains a diversity of rocks including clay hills known for their red and yellow colors and forms. Mountains rise at the borders of the crater:Har Ramon (Mt. Ramon) at the southern end,Har Ardon [he] (Mt. Ardon) at the north-eastern end, and two table mountains—Har Marpek (Mt. Marpek - "Elbow"), andHar Katum (Mt. Katum - "Cropped")—along the southern wall. The hills to the north-eastern edge of the makhtesh were once entirely covered by spiralammonite fossils, ranging from the size of snails to that of tractor wheels although these have mainly been extracted so only smaller fossils can be found here today.
Giv'at Ga'ash, a black hill in the north of the makhtesh, was once an active volcano which erupted thousands of years ago and caused it to be covered in lava which quickly cooled in the open air, converting it intobasalt.Limestone covered by basalt can also be found in smaller black hills in the southern part of the makhtesh, including Karnei Ramon.
Shen Ramon (Ramon's Tooth) is a rock made of magma which hardened whilst underground. It later rose up through cracks in the Earth's surface, and today stands in striking contrast with the nearby creamy coloured southern wall of the crater, as a black sharp-edged rock. In the centre of the makhtesh is HaMinsara (The Carpentry Shop), a low hill made up ofcolumnar jointed sandstone—polygonal prismatic columns ofquartzite. Thepteriidan bivalve FamilyRamonalinidae is found in early MiddleTriassic rocks of Makhtesh Ramon and was named after this feature. Nahal Ardon in the east of the makhtesh contains several verticaldikes. Occasional geodes ofcelestine can be found next to some of them.[1]
TheAsiatic wild ass has been reintroduced to Makhtesh Ramon. In 1995 the population had increased to 40 adults in the area. The animals are hybrids of two subspecies of the Asian Wild Ass, derived from theTurkmenian kulan (E. h. kulan) and thePersian onager (E. h. onager). The original subspecies, theSyrian wild ass (E. h. hemippus), is extinct.[2]
Other larger mammals of the area includeNubian ibex,Dorcas gazelles,striped hyenas,Arabian wolves,caracals,golden jackals, and reintroducedArabian oryx.[3] Historically, the area was home toArabian leopards. However, they are likelyextirpated in Israel.[4]
.jpg)
The ruins of a large prehistoric stone structure known asKhan Saharonim [he] are found in the makhtesh, as it lies along the ancientIncense Route, a trade route used by theNabataeans 2,000 years ago. These ruins acted as a way station for the traders and their animals (khan is the Arabic word for acaravanserai) as they proceeded further westward to the Mediterranean seaport city ofGaza.
Located atop the northern cliff of the crater, one can findMetzad Mahmal, the remnants of a stronghold employed by the Nabataeans and the Romans to safeguard the Incense Route. The site was excavated by several archaeologists, and declared aWorld Heritage Site byUNESCO in 2005.
.jpg)
%2c_at_the_north_edge_of_Ramon_crater_(Makhtesh_Ramon)%2c_Negev%2c_Israel.jpg)
_in_Makhtesh_Ramon%2c_Negev%2c_Israel.jpg)
%2c_Israel.jpg)
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
