Ramon Park - Makhtesh Ramon

Makhtesh Ramon is the ideal venue for the study of geology, even for those with little or no prior knowledge of the subject. The vigorous process of erosion, which swept away the upper strata of the Ramon anticline, penetrated deep into the ground, creating a "window" onto the layers of rock. Makhtesh Ramon also contains evidence of long-ago volcanic activity. Three sites of particular geological interest are the so-called Sawmill, where the sandstone crystallized into prism-like shapes; the dykes in Nahal Ardon; and the ammonites wall on the southern side of the makhtesh, a large stone wall studded with the fossils of the large snails known as ammonites.Photo by Rafael Ben-Ari/Chameleons Eye