A dramatic photograph taken on September 13, 2025, shows an enigmatic ring-shaped massif emerging from the pale sands of southeastern Libya’s Sahara. The structure, known as Jabal Arkanu, spans roughly 24 kilometres and consists of several layered rings made of basalt, granite, syenite, trachyte and phonolite — relics of ancient volcanic activity.

Earlier theories attributed these perfect circles to meteor impacts, but detailed geological studies have shown that they were formed by repeated magma intrusions — molten rock forcing its way upward, then cooling and solidifying, creating overlapping rings.

The image — taken from orbit — captures the massif’s ridges casting deep shadows across the desert floor; the peaks rise about 1,400 metres above sea level, roughly 800 metres above the surrounding sands. Below, outwash fans of boulders and gravel spread toward nearby dunes. Two dry wadis meander through the formation — clues to rare seasonal water flow in a region receiving just 1–5 millimetres of annual rainfall.

This image highlights how Earth’s internal forces — not cosmic collisions — sculpt remarkable landforms. In a landscape as desolate as the Sahara, Jabal Arkanu stands as a silent testament to volcanic power, time, and erosion — a barely visible giant among shifting sands.