A striking geological anomaly in the Sahara Desert has garnered attention from scientists and astronomers alike. In southeastern Libya, near the border with Egypt, Jabal Arkanū's concentric rock rings stand as relics of past geologic forces that churned beneath the desert. These ring-shaped structures were once thought to have formed by meteorite impacts but subsequent fieldwork suggested they resulted from terrestrial geological processes.
The rocky formations display a striking appearance, with darker brown sand encircling the rings and lighter patches of outwash spreading across the terrain. The ridges stand nearly 1,400 meters above sea level, casting long shadows across the desert landscape. A hat-shaped formation made of sandstone, limestone, and quartz layers borders the ring complex to the north.
Despite the arid climate in this region, water accumulates near Jabal Arkanū and neighboring massifs, with slightly higher rainfall totals than in surrounding areas. The terrain is characterized by two dry riverbeds winding through the structure, which suggests a modest orographic effect from the mountains.
The International Space Station captured this phenomenon on September 13, 2025, using a Nikon Z9 digital camera with an 800-millimeter focal length. The resulting image has been enhanced to improve contrast and lens artifacts have been removed. The NASA/JSC Gateway provides additional images taken by astronauts and cosmonauts, as well as resources for further learning.
This discovery underscores the complex geological history of Africa's Sahara Desert and serves as a reminder of the awe-inspiring natural wonders waiting to be explored and studied.
The rocky formations display a striking appearance, with darker brown sand encircling the rings and lighter patches of outwash spreading across the terrain. The ridges stand nearly 1,400 meters above sea level, casting long shadows across the desert landscape. A hat-shaped formation made of sandstone, limestone, and quartz layers borders the ring complex to the north.
Despite the arid climate in this region, water accumulates near Jabal Arkanū and neighboring massifs, with slightly higher rainfall totals than in surrounding areas. The terrain is characterized by two dry riverbeds winding through the structure, which suggests a modest orographic effect from the mountains.
The International Space Station captured this phenomenon on September 13, 2025, using a Nikon Z9 digital camera with an 800-millimeter focal length. The resulting image has been enhanced to improve contrast and lens artifacts have been removed. The NASA/JSC Gateway provides additional images taken by astronauts and cosmonauts, as well as resources for further learning.
This discovery underscores the complex geological history of Africa's Sahara Desert and serves as a reminder of the awe-inspiring natural wonders waiting to be explored and studied.
I'm literally blown away by this discovery! The concentric rock rings at Jabal Arkanū are, like, so cool 
. I love how they just kinda show up in the middle of the Sahara Desert, all rugged and brown 
. And can you even believe that they're not actually formed from meteorite impacts? That's wild 
. The fact that there's still water accumulating around them, despite the dry climate, is like, totally mind-blowing 
. I wish we had more pics of this place in the wild, but at least NASA captured it on camera 
. This just goes to show how much we don't know about our planet yet 
...
I mean, can you even imagine walking around this thing in person? The fact that there's water accumulating near it despite being in the middle of the desert is wild. It's like the Earth just decided to play a trick on us. 
But seriously, this is mind-blowing stuff and I'm all about learning more about our planet's secrets.
I mean, think about it, this geological anomaly in the Sahara Desert is like a metaphor for our own planet's history 
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. The fact that water accumulates near Jabal Arkanū despite the arid climate is a reminder that we need to be more mindful of how human activities impact the environment 
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. The fact that NASA and other space agencies are working together with scientists from around the world to study this phenomenon is a great example of global collaboration 
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. And who knows, maybe one day we'll uncover more secrets about our own planet and its geological history 
.
Like, who knew the Sahara was more than just a place where you go to pretend to be a nomad on Instagram? These ring-shaped rock formations are straight outta sci-fi movie 
. It's crazy how much geological history is buried under that desert sand – all those ancient forces churning beneath... yawn, I know, geology can be snooze-inducing 
. But seriously, these natural wonders are actually kinda mesmerizing... and who needs the International Space Station to tell us about it? 
The fact that water accumulates near Jabal Arkanū despite being in a super arid climate is just wild – I guess even the desert has its secrets 
. It’s also kinda mind-blowing that there's water accumulating in this arid area, like the desert is just saying "hey, I got this". Anyway, it just goes to show how much we still don’t know about our planet and its crazy geological history 
. its got this crazy dark brown sand around it and these long shadows everywhere, its so trippy! & get this... theres water accumulating near it even though the whole desert is super dry? that's wild 
. and to think scientists are still figuring out how they were formed - meteorite impacts or not? either way, it's a wild mind-bender.
just saw that this ring-shaped structure in Libya is 1400m tall tho, no wonder it casts such long shadows lol, but seriously though, scientists are still figuring out how these things formed, thought meteorites were the culprit but it turns out its all about terrestrial geological processes... 