HaMakhtesh HaGadol ( he, הַמַּכְתֵּשׁ הַגָּדוֹל, ''lit.'' The Big Crater) is a makhtesh, a geological

erosion Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust, and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is d ...

al landform of Israel's

Negev The Negev or Negeb (; he, הַנֶּגֶב, hanNegév; ar, ٱلنَّقَب, an-Naqab) is a desert and semidesert region of southern Israel. The region's largest city and administrative capital is Beersheba (pop. ), in the north. At its sout ...

desert. It measures 5 x 10 km.The Makhteshim Country and the connected Great Rift Valley Segment
/ref> A makhtesh has steep walls of resistant rock surrounding a deep closed valley. One of five makhteshim in Israel and seven in the world, HaMakhtesh HaGadol is the second largest, being exceptional in that it is drained by one river, Nahal Hatira. Makatesh Gadol was discovered and named before

Makhtesh Ramon Makhtesh Ramon ( he, מכתש רמון; ''lit.'' Ramon Crater/ Makhtesh ; ar, وادي الرمان, links=no) is a geological feature of Israel's Negev desert. Located some 85 km south of the city of Beersheba, the landform is the world ...

which is the largest Makhtesh in Israel. HaMakhtesh HaGadol is near

Yeruham Yeruham ( he, יְרוֹחַם, ''Yeroham'') is a town ( local council) in the Southern District of Israel, in the Negev desert. It covers 38,584 dunams (~38.6 km²), and had a population of in . It is named after the Biblical Jeroham. Un ...

, Israel's first

development town Development towns ( he, עיירת פיתוח, ''Ayarat Pitu'ah'') were new settlements built in Israel during the 1950s in order to provide permanent housing for a large influx of Jewish immigrants from Arab countries, Holocaust survivors from E ...

, established in the early days of the state. The location was chosen because the region was thought to be rich in natural resources.

See also

References

Further reading