The Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission captures a spectacular geological marvel within the Sahara Desert of Mauritania: the Richat Construction.
This large characteristic appears out from a sea of golden sand within the Adrar Area of northern Mauritania. As soon as considered the location of a meteor impression, the Richat Construction is now believed to have been brought on by a technique of uplift of a giant dome of molten rock that, as soon as on the floor, was formed by wind, sand and water erosion. Geologists agree that the construction is not less than 100 million years previous.
The layered formation consists of a collection of concentric rings and resembles a bull’s eye from area, so is also called the attention of the Sahara or the attention of Africa.
The Richat Construction, 50 km in diameter, is simpler to watch from area than from the bottom, and has been a well-recognized landmark for astronauts for the reason that earliest manned missions.
On this comparability, we will see two views captured in September 2025: the picture on the left is in pure color, whereas the picture on the correct is a false-colour mixture which highlights particular options.
This exceptional formation exposes layers of sedimentary rock somewhere else, relying on the charges of abrasion on the various rock varieties. This may be higher appreciated within the false-colour picture. The extra erosion-resistant quartzite sandstones seem in shades of purple and pink and kind the outer rings and excessive ridges internally, with valleys of less-resistant rock between them seen as darker areas. The central rings of the attention are about 80 m tall, with rocks older than these forming the outer rings.
Within the picture on the left, the darkish space surrounding the attention is a part of the Adrar plateau of sedimentary rock standing some 200 m above the encircling desert sands, which in flip are a part of the Erg Ouarane, an immense sand expanse stretching tons of of kilometres to Mali.
Sand can also be clearly seen encroaching into the construction’s southern facet. Right here, particular person bushes and bushes might be noticed as tiny dots, that are seen in purple within the false-colour picture, following a dry riverbed construction.
