![\"Image](\"http:\/\/static.atlasobscura.com\/images\/place\/makhtesh-ramon.8308.main.jpg\" "\\"Makhtesh")
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A massive, heart-shaped, wind-carved crater in the middle of the Israeli desert<\/b><\/p>\n
Makhtesh Ramon is the largest of Israel\u2019s bizarre geological formations called makhteshim (literally, \u201ccraters\u201d).
\nThought for many years to be an impact crater, the result of a meteor colliding with the deserts of southern Israel, geologists began noticing inconsistencies between the makhtesh and normal crater formations. After a long and trying investigation, the culprit was revealed: erosion.
\nThousands of years ago, the deserts of southern Israel were at the bottom of a vast, primordial sea. As it dried, the hard outer crust of the sea bottom began to wear away, exposing its soft interior. This interior eroded quickly until the tough crust collapsed, creating the crater-like valley we see today. Since then, two seasonal rivers, Nahal Ramon and Nahal Ardon, have formed every rainy season, further carving away at the rock and giving Ramon its distinctive heart shape.<\/p>\n
oday, Makhtesh Ramon, at 40 km long and 2-10 km wide, has been made into Israel\u2019s largest national park, the Ramon Nature Reserve. Expeditions can be launched from the valley\u2019s only town, Mitzpe Ramon (\u201cRamon Observation Point\u201d), on the northern rim, although visitors should be mindful to stay out of the incredible mid-day heat.
\nAt night, hikers should take advantage of one of the many hotels established by local Bedouin herders, where visitors can sleep in hand-woven tents while enjoying world-renowned Bedouin black coffee and the cool desert air. Staying at least one night is a must \u2013 far from the city lights, the stars in Makhtesh Ramon has been said to be so brilliant that they can \u201crestore your faith in God.\u201d
\nOther must-sees include Giv\u2019at Ga\u2019ash, a pitch-black former volcano arising from the crater floor, a few scattered Roman ruins after which the makhtesh was named (Roman, Ramon), and Wadi Nikarot (\u201cGrotto Riverbed\u201d), a dry riverbed flanked by spectacular cave formations dug out by the fast-moving rivers of spring. But hike at your own risk \u2013 flash floods have been known to kill inattentive walkers.<\/p>\n
Read more about Makhtesh Ramon on Atlas Obscura…<\/a><\/p>\n Category: Geological Oddities<\/a> Makhtesh Ramon A massive, heart-shaped, wind-carved crater in the middle of the Israeli desert Makhtesh Ramon is the largest of Israel\u2019s bizarre geological formations called makhteshim (literally, \u201ccraters\u201d). Thought for many years to be an impact crater, the result of a meteor colliding with the deserts of southern Israel, geologists began noticing inconsistencies between the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6669,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-519764","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/519764","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6669"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=519764"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/519764\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=519764"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=519764"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=519764"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Location: <\/a>
Edited by: gabeschwartz<\/a>, Dylan<\/a>
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