Trio of 'black mesas' leftover from Paleozoic era spawn rare sand dunes in the Sahara — Earth from space | Geociencias Virtuales C.A.

Trio of 'black mesas' leftover from Paleozoic era spawn rare sand dunes in the Sahara — Earth from space

Trio of 'black mesas' leftover from Paleozoic era spawn rare sand dunes in the Sahara — Earth from space

Earth Sciences

Dec 05 2025 20:50 PM

A 2023 astronaut photo shows three dark hills, or mesas, towering above part of the Sahara desert in southern Mauritania. The structures are remnants of a single Paleozoic era formation, and have helped to create a series of striking sand dunes. Read More

Tags

Leave a comment

Comments ({{ storyCommentsCount }})

{{comment.name}}

{{comment.created | tsdate:'MMMM dd, yyyy'}}

{{comment.created | tsdate:'h:mm a'}}

{{comment.comment}}

{{replyComments.name}}

{{replyComments.created | tsdate:'MMMM dd, yyyy'}}

{{replyComments.created | tsdate:'h:mm a'}}

{{replyComments.comment }}

Giant 'spiderwebs' on Mars contain tiny egg-like structures that scientists 'can't quite explain,' NASA rover reveals

Incomplete remains of world's 'youngest' impact crater spotted lurking in Chinese forest — Earth from space

Sistema Ox Bel Ha: A vast hidden system that's the longest underwater cave in the world

Hidden beauty of Zimbabwe's 2.5 billion-year-old 'geological marvel' revealed in striking astronaut photo — Earth from space

There's 13 Great Lakes' worth of water hidden beneath the contiguous US, new map reveals

The largest reservoir of hydrogen on Earth may be hiding in its core

The largest reservoir of hydrogen on Earth may be hiding in its core

The Colorado River's largest tributary flows 'uphill' for over 100 miles — and geologists may finally have an explanation for it

Scientist accidentally stumbles across bizarre ancient ‘wrinkle structures’ in Morocco that shouldn't be there

Bandera Volcano Ice Cave: The weird lava tube in New Mexico whose temperature is always below freezing

New map shows weird magnetic anomaly lurking beneath Australia's Northern Territory

Enormous 'mega-blob' under Hawaii is solid rock and iron, not gooey — and it may fuel a hotspot

The Colorado River's largest tributary flows 'uphill' for over 100 miles — and geologists may finally have an explanation for it

Chocolate Hills: The color-changing mounds in the Philippines that inspired legends of mud-slinging giants

Hundreds of iceberg earthquakes are shaking the crumbling end of Antarctica's Doomsday Glacier

Ancient burrowing bees made their nests in the tooth cavities and vertebrae of dead rodents, scientists discover

Giant structure discovered deep beneath Bermuda is unlike anything else on Earth

Earth's crust hides enough 'gold' hydrogen to power the world for tens of thousands of years, emerging research suggests

A huge helium shortage is looming — but ancient rocks in Earth's crust may be hiding massive reservoirs

Trio of 'black mesas' leftover from Paleozoic era spawn rare sand dunes in the Sahara — Earth from space

A gulf separating Africa and Asia is still pulling apart — 5 million years after scientists thought it had stopped

Parts of Arizona are being sucked dry, with areas of land sinking 6 inches per year, satellite data reveals

Breakup of ancient supercontinent Nuna created 'incubators' for complex life, study finds

Triple Divide Peak: Montana's unique liquid 'crossroads' where water can flow into three oceans

First of its kind 'butt drag fossil' discovered in South Africa — and it was left by a fuzzy elephant relative 126,000 years ago

Greenland is twisting, tensing and shrinking due to the 'ghosts' of melted ice sheets

Eternal Flame Falls: New York's mini waterfall that hides a grotto filled with undying fire

Rare half-pink rough diamond with 'astounding' weight of 37.4 carats discovered in Botswana

Scientists discover first direct evidence that slivers of 'proto-Earth' may survive today

Scientists discover new way to predict next Mount Etna eruption

Stalagmites adhere to a single mathematical rule, scientists discover

AI reveals hidden 'ring fault' that is unleashing earthquakes at Italy's Campi Flegrei volcano

Hidden, supercharged 'thermostat' may cause Earth to overcorrect for climate change

Satellites detected strange gravity signal coming from deep within Earth almost 20 years ago, study reveals

Did plate tectonics give rise to life? Groundbreaking new research could crack Earth's deepest mystery.

Sea of Saharan 'star dunes' clashes with otherworldly terrain where 2 countries meet — Earth from space

Perplexing diamonds from South Africa mine contain 'almost impossible' chemistry

Weird glass in Australia appears to be from giant asteroid impact — but scientists 'yet to locate the crater'

Vast source of rare Earth metal niobium was dragged to the surface when a supercontinent tore apart

Narusawa Ice Cave: The lava tube brimming with 10-foot-high ice pillars at the base of Mount Fuji

Giant sandy 'slug' crawls through floodplains in Kazakhstan, but it could soon be frozen in place — Earth from space

The geology that holds up the Himalayas is not what we thought, scientists discover

Loughareema: The 'vanishing lake' in Northern Ireland that mysteriously drains and refills itself within hours

Lake Superior rocks reveal build up to giant collision that formed supercontinent Rodinia

Three Whale Rock: Thailand's 75-million-year-old stone leviathans that look like they're floating in a sea of trees

Why do diamonds come in different colors?

Hot blob beneath Appalachians formed when Greenland split from North America — and it's heading to New York

Rocks in Canada may be oldest on Earth, dating back 4.16 billion years

Watch mud volcano erupt beneath a crown of flames in Taiwan

Mount Thor: The mountain with Earth's longest vertical drop

Giant meteor impact may have triggered massive Grand Canyon landslide 56,000 years ago

Study raises major questions about Earth's 'oldest' impact crater

Enormous blobs deep beneath Earth's surface appear to drive giant volcanic eruptions

What's Earth's lowest point on land?

Scientists discover that mysterious giant structures beneath the North Sea seemingly defy what we know about geology

There's a 'ghost' plume lurking beneath the Middle East — and it might explain how India wound up where it is today

Hells Canyon caves reveal unexpected finding about America's deepest gorge

Taal Lake: The volcanic crater that has 'an island within a lake, within an island within a lake, within an island'

Industrial waste is turning into a new type of rock at 'unprecedented' speed, new study finds

How much gold is there in the world?

Tectonic plates can spread subduction like a contagion — jumping from one oceanic plate to another

Scientists discover strong, unexpected link between Earth's magnetic field and oxygen levels

Russian scientists discover a new island in the Caspian Sea — the world's largest inland body of water

Lake Natron: The caustic, blood-red lake in Tanzania that turns animals to 'stone'

The mysterious hill in Sudan that looks like 'landlocked lips' — Earth from space

There's a humongous boulder on a cliff in Tonga. Now we know how it got there.

Africa is being torn apart by a 'superplume' of hot rock from deep within Earth, study suggests

North America's 'broken heart': The billion-year-old scar from when the continent nearly ripped apart

Gigantic 'mud waves' buried deep beneath the ocean floor reveal dramatic formation of Atlantic when Africa and South America finally split

Scientists think a hidden source of clean energy could power Earth for 170,000 years — and they've figured out the 'recipe' to find it

Yosemite's ultra-deep canyon may have been carved in part by a ghost volcano and river, provocative research suggests

El Cono: The mysterious sacred 'pyramid' hidden deep in the Amazon rainforest

Yellowstone holds potentially untapped cache of 'carbon-free' helium for rockets, reactors and superconductors

Iran's folded rocks: The crumpled mountains at the intersection of Asia and Europe

'Quiet Chernobyl' changed Earth's surface so much the planet's mantle is still moving 80 years later

Study reveals 'flawed argument' in debate over when plate tectonics began

'It was amazing': Scientists discover ash from 2 mystery volcanic eruptions in Wyoming

Massive magma eruptions may have ripped Africa and South America apart

Rainbow Mountains: China's psychedelic landscape created when 2 tectonic plates collided

North America is 'dripping' down into Earth's mantle, scientists discover

Lake Salda: The only place on Earth similar to Jezero crater on Mars

30,000-year-old fossilized vulture feathers 'nothing like what we usually see' preserved in volcanic ash

Refuge from the worst mass extinction in Earth’s history discovered fossilized in China

52-foot-high 'megaripples' from asteroid that killed the dinosaurs mapped deep beneath Louisiana in 3D

'This is by far the oldest': Scientists discover 3.47 billion-year-old meteorite impact crater in Australian outback

Mount Roraima: The 'lost world' isolated for millions of years that Indigenous people call the 'house of the gods'

Earth from space: Giant, pyramid-like 'star dunes' slowly wander across Moroccan desert

Ancient seafloor spreading 15 million years ago caused sea levels to plummet

5 million-year-old tooth from Tennessee belongs to house cat-size flying squirrel

Savonoski Crater: The mysterious, perfectly round hole in Alaska that scientists can't explain

Creepy 'ghost lanterns' in South Carolina are not what they seem, study suggests

World's biggest underground thermal lake discovered in Albania at bottom of 330-foot abyss

Scientists discover Earth's inner core isn't just slowing down — it's also changing shape

Earthquakes: Facts about why the Earth moves

Is the moon still geologically active? Evidence says it's possible

Romania's trovants: The bulbous 'living' rocks that inspired folkloric tales of dinosaur eggs and aliens

Ocean plate from time of Pangaea is now being torn apart under Iraq and Iran

Earth's crust is peeling away under California

Upheaval Dome: Utah's 'belly button' that has divided scientists since its discovery

Pamukkale: Turkey's 'cotton castle' of white limestone that inspired an ancient cult

What's inside Earth quiz: Test your knowledge of our planet's hidden layers

Giant reserves of 'gold' hydrogen may be lurking beneath at least 30 US states, 1st-of-its-kind map reveals

Giant ice age landforms discovered deep beneath North Sea revealed in amazing detail

The Bungle Bungles: Towering domes in the Australian outback that contain traces of the earliest life-forms on Earth

One of Iceland's largest volcanoes sees swarm of 130 earthquakes — could it be about to blow?

Scientists discover 'sunken worlds' hidden deep within Earth's mantle that shouldn't be there

Antarctica 'pyramid': The strangely symmetrical mountain that sparked a major alien conspiracy theory

Scientists discover ancient 'hotspot' that birthed the Great Lakes 300 million years ago

Tristan da Cunha: The most remote inhabited island on Earth, forged from a supercontinent breakup

The oldest rocks on Earth

Kawah Ijen: The volcano in Indonesia that holds the world's largest acidic lake at its heart

There's a massive fault hidden under America's highest mountain — and we finally know how it formed

'I knew they were something special': New York homeowner discovers mastodon jaw fossils in backyard

Sapphires form inside the fiery hearts of volcanoes, not deep in the mantle like we thought

Volcano in Tanzania with weirdest, runniest magma on Earth is sinking into the ground

Salar de Uyuni: The world's largest salt desert and lithium reservoir surrounded by volcanoes

World's largest iron ore deposits formed over 1 billion years ago in supercontinent breakup

Yarlung Tsangpo: The deepest canyon on land hides a tree taller than the Statue of Liberty

Scientists drill longest-ever piece of Earth's mantle from underwater mountain near 'Lost City'

Gargantuan waves in Earth's mantle may make continents rise, new study finds

Plate tectonics fired up at least 3 billion years ago, study of ancient rocks in Australia indicates

Just a fraction of the hydrogen hidden beneath Earth's surface could power Earth for 200 years, scientists find

Marble Caves: Chile's ethereal turquoise caverns with 'mineral ice cream' on the walls

Earth from space: Otherworldly stripes and shadowy dunes share center stage in 'hottest place on Earth'

Fossil Forest, Dorset: England's 145 million-year-old tree stump fossils preserved by ancient microbes

'It looks like smoke:' Mysterious chimneys spewing shimmering liquid discovered at the bottom of the Dead Sea

Geology news, features and articles

Gigantic 'spiderwebs' on Mars are the next big target for NASA's Curiosity rover, agency reveals

Hailin impact crater: China's newly discovered meteor pit born from a 'nuclear explosion level' event

'Supergiant' gold deposit discovered in China is one of the largest on Earth — and is worth more than $80 billion

Earth from space: Wandering sand dunes circle gigantic 'eye' sculpted by ancient city-killer meteor in the Sahara

Indian Ocean gravity hole: The dent in Earth's gravitational field created by the death of an ancient ocean

Underwater volcano-like structure is spewing gas off Alaska's coast, US Coast Guard says

Woman accidentally discovers 280 million-year-old lost world while hiking in Italian Alps

Meet FRED: The world's 1st-ever, nearly complete fossil database

'Another piece of the puzzle': Antarctica's 1st-ever amber fossil sheds light on dinosaur-era rainforest that covered South Pole 90 million years ago

'Missing link' found in ancient rocks of Colorado show that Snowball Earth really happened

Did plate tectonics give rise to life? Groundbreaking new research could crack Earth's deepest mystery.

When did plate tectonics begin?

Huge lithium deposits are in Nevada. Here's why.

Hang Son Doong: The world's biggest cave, so 'outrageous in size' it fits 2 jungles and the 'Great Wall of Vietnam'

Will Mount Everest always be the world's tallest mountain?

Earth's mantle is split into two halves thanks to supercontinent Pangaea

Listen to haunting sounds of Earth's magnetic field flipping 41,000 years ago in eerie new animation

Which are rarer: diamonds or emeralds?

Carlsbad Caverns: New Mexico's otherworldly caves with gypsum flowers and 'soda straws' dangling from the ceiling

Earth's crust may be building mountains by dripping into the mantle

Mystery iron-rich magma entombed in dead volcanoes could be rich source of rare earth elements

'Many more ancient structures waiting to be discovered': Lost chunk of seafloor hidden in Earth's mantle found off Easter Island

Hranice Abyss: The deepest freshwater cave on Earth and a conduit to a 'fossil' sinkhole

We're one step closer to finding out why Siberia is riddled with exploding craters

Mount Everest is taller than it should be — and a weird river may be to blame

Scientists confirm there are 40 huge craters at the bottom of Lake Michigan

Racetrack Playa: The home of Death Valley's mysterious 'sailing stones'

Weird mystery waves that baffle scientists may be 'everywhere' inside Earth's mantle

'Golden spike' showing the moment Earth turned into a giant snowball discovered in ancient Scottish rocks

Stonehenge's 13,200-pound Altar Stone originated in northeastern Scotland, more than 450 miles away

Supercooling of Earth's inner core may finally reveal how old it is

Mesmerizing animation shows Earth's tectonic plates moving from 1.8 billion years ago to today

Massive helium reservoir in Minnesota could solve US shortage

Earthquakes can trigger quartz into forming giant gold nuggets, study finds

Giant underwater avalanche decimated Atlantic seafloor 60,000 years ago, 1st-of-its-kind map reveals

Al Naslaa rock: Saudi Arabia's enigmatic sandstone block that's split perfectly down the middle

Yellowstone Biscuit Basin explosion may have created a new geyser

Methane 'kitchens' in Siberia's permafrost form mounds that can erupt, creating giant craters

An undersea eruption rocked the Aegean 520,000 years ago

Lake Kivu: The ticking time bomb that could one day explode and unleash a massive, deadly gas cloud

'Upwelling' deep in the mantle triggered magnitude 6.8 Morocco earthquake

'Spectacular and definitely hazardous': Yellowstone geyser erupts, firing steam and debris over nearby tourists

'Spectacular and definitely hazardous': Yellowstone geyser erupts, firing steam and debris over nearby tourists

Andes region formed in 4 stages over the last 24 million years, new modeling study suggests

Andes region formed in 4 stages over the last 24 million years, new modeling study suggests

Earth's plate tectonics fired up hundreds of millions of years earlier than we thought, ancient crystals reveal

Norway's Dragon's Eye: The fantastical 'pothole' that emerged from ice 16,000 years ago

Massive helium reservoir with 'mind-boggling' concentrations may be even bigger, more concentrated than we thought

Earth from space: Green River winds through radioactive 'labyrinth of shadows'

Argyle mine: Earth's treasure trove of pink diamonds born during a supercontinent's break up

Boiling rocks from Earth's crust tore an ocean into Mongolia 410 million years ago

Earth from space: Near-lifeless 'Land of Terror' looks like an alien landscape in the Sahara

Gates of Hell: Turkmenistan's methane-fueled fire pit that has been burning since 1971

Earth's rotating inner core is starting to slow down — and it could alter the length of our days

Huge earthquake 2,500 years ago rerouted the Ganges River, study suggests

Enormous deposit of rare earth elements discovered in heart of ancient Norwegian volcano

What's the difference between a rock and a mineral?

'The difference between alarming and catastrophic': Cascadia megafault has 1 especially deadly section, new map reveals

Italy's Campi Flegrei volcano hit by 150 earthquakes in just 5 hours

Eye of the Sahara: Mauritania's giant rock dome that towers over the desert

China's 'heavenly pits': The giant sinkholes that have ancient forests growing within

Earth-size planet found orbiting nearby star that will outlive the sun by 100 billion years

Earth may have had freshwater and continents just 200 million years after forming, ancient crystals reveal

Fairy Chimneys: The stone spires in Turkey that form 'the world's most unusual high-rise neighborhood'

Weird blobs lurking near Earth's core may have been dragged from the surface

Collapse of Earth's magnetic field may have fueled evolution of life 600 million years ago

Record-shattering Tonga volcanic eruption wasn't triggered by what we thought, new study suggests

Cave of Crystals: The deadly cavern in Mexico dubbed 'the Sistine Chapel of crystals'

Deepest blue hole in the world discovered, with hidden caves and tunnels believed to be inside

Earth's magnetic field formed before the planet's core, study suggests

Scientists may have pinpointed the true origin of the Hope Diamond and other pristine gemstones

There's an asteroid out there worth $100,000 quadrillion. Why haven't we mined it?

Seattle's massive fault may result from oceanic crust 'unzipping itself' 55 million years ago

The sea 'began to boil': Freak volcanic eruption of Santorini 1,300 years ago indicates huge blasts can occur during time of quiet

How much water is in Earth's crust?

Mystery of enormous Saharan 'star dune' finally solved — and it wasn't what scientists were expecting

Scientists just discovered a massive reservoir of helium beneath Minnesota

Underwater robot in Siberia's Lake Baikal reveals hidden mud volcanoes — and an active fault

'It's had 1.1 billion years to accumulate': Helium reservoir in Minnesota has 'mind-bogglingly large' concentrations

Hidden chunk of Earth's crust that seeded birth of 'Scandinavia' discovered through ancient river crystals

Largest gold nugget ever found in England unearthed with faulty metal detector

Popular

Global Warming Is Fueling Dengue Fever Outbreaks

Which States Are Getting Hit Hardest by Electricity Price Increases?

Advocacy Groups Appeal Dismissal of Case Over Trump’s Cancellation of Environmental Justice Grants

Related