Makhtesh Gadol

HaMakhtesh HaGadol is a makhtesh

Makhtesh

thumb|left|One of the two makhteshim in Sinai
© DigitalGlobeA makhtesh is a geological landform regarded to be unique to the Negev desert of Israel and the Sinai Peninsula...

, a geological

Geology

Geology is the science and study of the solid and liquid matter that constitutes the Earth. The field of geology encompasses the study of the composition, structure, physical properties, dynamics, and history of Earth materials, and the processes by which they are formed, moved, and changed...

 erosional

Erosion

Erosion is a gravity driven process that moves solids in the natural environment or their source and deposits them elsewhere...

 landform of Israel's

Israel

Israel officially the State of Israel , is a developed state in Western Asia located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan in the east, and Egypt on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its...

 Negev

Negev

The Negev is a desert and semidesert region of southern Israel. The indigenous Bedouin inhabitants of the region refer to the desert as al-Naqab . The origin of the word Negev is from the Hebrew root denoting 'dry'...

 desert. One of five makhteshim in Israel, and seven in the world, it is the second largest, being exceptional in that it is drained by two rivers, the Nahal Ramon and Nahal Ardon. At the time of naming, the Makhtesh Ramon

Makhtesh Ramon

Makhtesh Ramon is a spectacular geological feature of Israel's Negev desert. Located at the peak of Mount Negev, some 85 km south of the city of Beersheba, the landform is not actually an impact crater from a meteor, but rather is the world's largest erosion cirque or makhtesh...

, the largest makhtesh was unchartered and so this was thought to be the largest Makhtesh.