Ramon Crater

The Crater The Ramon Crater is 40 kilometers long and 2 to 10 kilometers wide, shaped like an elongated heart. It is a part of the Ramon Nature reserve that includes also the surrounding Negev mountains. The only settlement in the area is a small town of Mitzpe Ramon (Ramon Observation Point, in Hebrew) standing over the northern wall of the crater. The name Ramon comes from the arabic "Ruman" meaning "Romans", and probably linked to a track that Romans built here.The crater formation began hundreds of millions years ago when the ocean that covered the Negev began to move north. First, there was a hump-shaped hill. Water and other climatic forces slowly and steadily flattened the curve on top. Much later (only some 5 million years ago), the Arava rift valley was formed and rivers changed their course. As they did so, they carved out the inside of the crater.In the desert the erosional power of water by far exceeds that of the occasional rain hitting the sharp edges of the craters. The crater bottom deepens fast while the walls retain their vertical angle, gradually increasing in height. As the crater deepens, lower and more ancient rock strata are exposed. At the bottom of Ramon Crater some rocks are as old as 200 million years.