Makhtesh HaKatan and Makhtesh HaGadol

Stand on the rim of a makhtesh and the ground simply falls away. Hundreds of meters below, the crater floor stretches to the far wall in bands of red, purple, and ochre, a landscape so vast and so empty that it takes a moment to grasp its scale. These formations exist nowhere else on the planet outside of the Negev and Sinai. The ancient Nabateans knew them well: the Incense Route that carried frankincense and myrrh from Arabia to the Mediterranean threaded through the passes between these craters, and caravans would have looked down into the same immense silence that greets visitors today.

Makhtesh HaKatan (the Small Crater) and Makhtesh HaGadol (the Large Crater) are two of the erosion cirques found nowhere else on earth except in the Negev and the Sinai. Three major makhteshim exist in the Negev (Ramon, HaGadol, and HaKatan), with two more in the Sinai. Despite their common English name, these are not impact craters. They are erosion craters, formed over millions of years as water carved through the hard outer shell of ancient mountains, hollowing out the softer rock beneath and creating enormous bowl-shaped depressions ringed by steep cliffs.

How an Erosion Crater Forms

The makhteshim were formed when anticlinal ridges (dome-shaped folds in the earth’s crust) were breached by erosion. Water penetrated through cracks in the hard limestone and dolomite cap, reached the softer sandstone and marl beneath, and gradually carved out the interior. The result is a formation that looks like a volcanic crater from above but is entirely the product of water erosion. The colorful sandstone layers visible on the inner walls, ranging from deep red to yellow to purple, represent hundreds of millions of years of geological history.

Makhtesh HaKatan

The Small Crater, approximately 7-8 kilometers long and 5-6 kilometers wide, is the most accessible of the makhteshim and offers some of the most dramatic color in the Negev. The inner walls display bands of colored sandstone, and the floor of the crater contains fossils, mineral deposits, and a surprising amount of desert vegetation. A hiking trail descends into the crater and follows the dry riverbed through the colorful landscape.

Makhtesh HaGadol

The Large Crater is approximately 10 kilometers long and 5 kilometers wide. A road descends into the crater through the Ma’ale Akrabim (Scorpions’ Ascent), a steep switchback road that is one of the most dramatic drives in Israel. The floor of the crater contains Bedouin encampments, geological formations, and hiking trails. The view from the rim, looking down into the immense bowl of multicolored rock, is one of the great desert panoramas.

The largest and most famous of the makhteshim is the Ramon Crater (Makhtesh Ramon), which is 40 kilometers long and 500 meters deep. Together, the three craters form a geological trilogy that is unique to this region and has been proposed for UNESCO World Heritage status.

Visit with Hoshen Tours

The Makhteshim are geological formations found nowhere else on earth, and seeing them from the rim or hiking into their depths is one of the most memorable experiences in the Negev. Hoshen Tours explains the unique geological process that created these erosion craters, distinct from impact craters or volcanic calderas, and leads visitors to the best viewpoints and trails. The exposed rock layers inside reveal millions of years of geological history in vivid color. Combine the craters with Sde Boker, Ein Avdat, the Nabatean city of Avdat, and Timna Park.