Richat Structure (2011) | Hacker News Reader

Richat Structure (2011)

earthobservatory.nasa.gov

70 pointsKye14 comments

I’ve been a couple of times. It’s geologically interesting, but there’s no sense of scale when you’re in it. It’s also hot, dry, lifeless and a long way to the nearest pub. But a cool place to visit, with the journey to get there in your own vehicle is the trip,of a lifetime. Mauritania is a special place with lovely people.

Were you there for fun, or research? What made you decide to visit in person?

From what I can tell, Mauritania is not particularly tourist-friendly. It has an active "Reconsider Travel" advisory with the US State Dept, and there was a coup there as recently as 2008.

How does one even go about planning the logistics of such a trip?

The "Reconsider Travel" badge has nothing to do with the nature of the large majority of people in a country. They can be as warm and welcoming as they want. But it's about the risk of terrorism, kidnapping and theft. Sadly, "A few bad apples..."

That's Atlantis

I sincerely hope you're joking. The Richat Structure is a natural geological formation and Atlantis isn't real. Anyone who says otherwise is either a conman trying to sell something, or is an utter moron.

It's not as cut and dry as it might seem, but its possible I am an utter moron. The Richat Structure, while likely a natural geological formation, exhibits several anomalous qualities. Its nearly perfect circular shape, concentric rings, and large size are quite unusual. The lack of high-pressure shock minerals challenges the impact crater hypothesis, and its symmetrical uplift and erosion pattern are not commonly observed in similar formations.

>At a Royal Geographical Society meeting, the speaker was admired by an attendee for having “blown Wegener’s theory to bits”, after which the absent Wegener was then thanked for “offering himself for the explosion.”

>A University of Chicago geologist, Thomas Chamberlain, accused Wegener of ignoring “awkward and ugly facts” and of taking “considerable liberties with our globe”. Despite resolving numerous outstanding questions in his field, an American paleontologist called the work “Germanic pseudo-science” nonetheless. Even German geologists joined the fray with gusto by referring to Wegener’s “delirious ravings” and accusing him of having contracted “moving crust disease and wandering pole plague.” Harsh.

https://medium.com/swlh/the-delirious-ravings-of-alfred-wege...

"and Atlantis isn't real"

"hold my beer, these guys are going to freak over this one" - Plato

Atlantis was man-made, but Richat is not, seems like the biggest argument against it.

Next to the Atlas Mountains too!

Part of it, yeah.

The other part is in New Hampshire in the Ossipee mountains https://maps.app.goo.gl/eFd99rVByMyDJYbj9

I bet it would be pretty cool to hike to the center of it.

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