Richat Structure, Mauritania

Credit: ESA, Posted on: Saturday, 13 November 2004, 10:04 CST Download full size image

The ever-shifting sands of the Sahara desert cover a large section of Mauritania. They all but obscure the remarkable Guelb Richat or Richat structure, although its heart remains clear like a bulls-eye in the middle of this Envisat image. The 50-km-diameter circular Richat structure is one of those geological features that are more clearly observed from space than from down on the ground, with this 'eye of Africa' a familiar landmark to astronauts since the earliest manned missions. Envisat's Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS) acquired this image.

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