Showing posts with label Mauritania. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mauritania. Show all posts

Thursday, 26 February 2015

Eye of Sahara, A Marvelous Geological Phenomenon in the Sahara Desert of Mauritania



This is also called, The “Eye of Africa”, a marvelous geological phenomenon in the Sahara Desert of Mauritania, a country in northern Africa, peers up in this satellite image. The Richat structure, as it is also recognized, and very much resembles to bull's-eye peering out of the sand. The magnificent structure is 30 miles in diameter, very large in the featureless Sahara that the earliest space missions used it as a landmark.

This was well believed, that eye was formed by a meteor impact, but with the passage of time, it is believed to be result of geological uplift that has been exposed over time by wind and water erosion. Therefore, different rates of erosion on the varying rock types have formed concentric ridges, and then further erosion resistant rocks form high ridges while the non-resistant rocks form valleys. A plateau of sedimentary rocks forms the darker regions surrounding the Richat structure, which is roughly stands 656 above the surrounding sand.

Mauritania’s (The Kediet ej jill Mountain) highest peak is a magnetic mountain standing almost 3281 feet can be seen here. It appears very composed in blue colors a true natural magnetic substance. Whenever you’re flying over Mauritania, or passing above Africa, you must have a visit out the window and see if you can spot the Richat Structure. It shouldn’t be too difficult the thing is 30 miles wide. A lot of scientists truly believed that the Eye of the Sahara was first spotted from space in the mid-'60s. The Richat Structure, or blue eye of Africa, is a prominent geological circular feature in the Sahara desert in Mauritania near Ouadane.