The Geologic Oddity in Mauritania; The Eye of the Sahara

What you are looking at is a massive circular feature within Mauritania. It is a truly beautiful geologic oddity largely only visible from satellite. Known as the "Eye of the Sahara", it is a spectacular 45 kilometer or 28 mile wide feature which contrasts with the overall coloration of the surrounding landscape. It formed approximately 100 million years ago due to a series of geologic events. This video will discuss this spectacular feature and describe how it formed.

Thumbnail Photo Credit: NASA, JSC (Johnson Space Center), https://images.nasa.gov/details/iss04.... This image was cropped, color enhanced, overlaid with text, and overlaid with GeologyHub made graphics (the image border & the GeologyHub logo).

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Google Earth imagery used in this video: ©Google & Data Providers

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CC BY 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...

Sources/Citations:
[1] U.S. Geological Survey
[2] El Houssein Abdeina, Fred Jourdan, Gilles Chazot, Hervé Bertrand, Bernard Le Gall, How old is the Eye of Africa? A polyphase history for the igneous Richat Structure, Mauritania, Lithos, Volumes 482–483, 2024, 107698, ISSN 0024-4937, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lithos.2024.... (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science.... CC BY 4.0.
[3] Taylor, C.D., ed., 2015, Second projet de renforcement institutionnel du secteur minier de la République Islamique de Mauritanie (PRISM-II) phase V: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2013‒1280, 20 chaps., pages variable, pls. variable, http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/ofr20131280. [In English and French.]
[4] Bradley, D.C., Motts, H.A., Horton, J.D., Giles, Stuart, and Taylor, C.D., 2015, Geologic map of Mauritania (phase V, deliverables 51a, 51b, and 51c), chap. A1 of Taylor, C.D., ed., Second projet de renforcement institutionnel du secteur minier de la Republique Islamique de Mauritania (PRISM-II): U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2013-1280-A1, 3 pl., http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/ofr20131280. [In English and French].
[5] NASA
[6] JSC (Johnson Space Center)
[7] Correia, P., Murphy, J.B. Iberian-Appalachian connection is the missing link between Gondwana and Laurasia that confirms a Wegenerian Pangaea configuration. Sci Rep 10, 2498 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-59..., CC BY 4.0.

0:00 Eye of the Sahara
0:36 Not an Impact Crater
1:07 200 Million Years Ago
2:49 101 Million Years Ago
3:14 Phonolite Magma
3:29 Uplift and Formation