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Mitzpe Ramon ( he, מִצְפֵּה רָמוֹן, Ramon Lookout; ar, متسبي رمون) is a local council in the
Negev The Negev or Negeb (; he, הַנֶּגֶב, hanNegév; ar, ٱلنَّقَب, an-Naqab) is a desert and semidesert region of southern Israel. The region's largest city and administrative capital is Beersheba (pop. ), in the north. At its southe ...
desert of southern
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
. It is situated on the northern ridge at an elevation of 860 meters (2,800 feet) overlooking the world's largest erosion
cirque A (; from the Latin word ') is an amphitheatre-like valley formed by glacial erosion. Alternative names for this landform are corrie (from Scottish Gaelic , meaning a pot or cauldron) and (; ). A cirque may also be a similarly shaped landform ...
, known as the Makhtesh Ramon. In it had a population of .


History

Mitzpe Ramon was founded in 1951 as a camp for the workers building Highway 40. The town's first permanent residents, several young families from Kibbutz
Re'im Re'im ( he, רֵעִים, lit. ''Friends'') is a secular kibbutz in southern Israel, and one of the Gaza vicinity villages. Located at the confluence of Besor Stream and Gerar Stream in the north-western Negev desert, it falls under the jurisdic ...
and other parts of Israel began settling there in 1956. After five years, the town was home to 370 residents including 160 children, most of them veteran Israelis. There were also 180 housing units to absorb new immigrants They were joined by immigrants from North Africa, Romania, and India in the 1960s, and it became the southernmost of the Negev's
development town Development towns ( he, עיירת פיתוח, ''Ayarat Pitu'ah'') were new settlements built in Israel during the 1950s in order to provide permanent housing for a large influx of Jewish immigrants from Arab countries, Holocaust survivors from E ...
s. Conditions in the early years were harsh, with limited food supplies and practically no modern-day amenities. Ice blocks and provisions were delivered once a week by a supply truck. There was a single school with one classroom for all ages. The homes of the first settlers were prefabricated asbestos barracks. Later, rows of small attached stone houses were built and after that, apartment buildings, beginning in the early 1960s. In 1972, Mitzpe Ramon had a population of about 1,400 people living in 300 households. The town further grew after
Ramon Airbase Ramon Airbase ( he, בסיס חיל-האוויר רמון , ''Basis Hayil-HaAvir Ramon'', lit. ''Ramon Air Force Base'') is an Israeli Air Force base southwest of Beersheba, near the town of Mitzpe Ramon. Also titled Kanaf 25 ( he, כנף 25, li ...
was completed in 1982. In 1988, the town had a population of about 3,000, and it experienced more significant population growth when it absorbed Soviet immigrants during the 1990s Post-Soviet aliyah.


Geology and climate

Ramon Crater Makhtesh Ramon ( he, מכתש רמון; ''lit.'' Ramon Crater/Makhtesh ; ar, وادي الرمان, links=no) is a geological feature of Israel's Negev desert. Located some 85 km south of the city of Beersheba, the landform is the world ...
, known as a ''
makhtesh A makhtesh ( he, מַכְתֵּשׁ (), Hebrew plural: ( – ''Makhteshim'') is a geological landform considered typical for the Negev desert of Israel and the Sinai peninsula of Egypt. A makhtesh has steep walls of resistant rock surrounding a ...
'' Ramon, is 38 km long, 6 km wide and 450 meters deep. Mitzpe Ramon's climate borders between
hot desert climate The desert climate or arid climate (in the Köppen climate classification ''BWh'' and ''BWk''), is a dry climate sub-type in which there is a severe excess of evaporation over precipitation. The typically bald, rocky, or sandy surfaces in desert ...
and
cold desert climate The desert climate or arid climate (in the Köppen climate classification ''BWh'' and ''BWk''), is a dry climate sub-type in which there is a severe excess of evaporation over precipitation. The typically bald, rocky, or sandy surfaces in desert ...
(
Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
: BWh/BWk), characterized by hot, dry summers and cold winters. There are moderate to strong winds all year long, caused by its location above the crater, which make Mitzpe Ramon feel much colder than it really is. Precipitation is scarce, concentrated around the winter months, with an annual precipitation amount of roughly 70 millimeters (2.75 inches). Snowfall occurs on average once in a couple of years.


Economy

The development of Mitzpe Ramon was adversely affected by the opening of Route 90 in the late 1960s. After the inauguration of this highway, traffic to and from Eilat bypassed Mitzpe Ramon almost entirely. However, growing interest in
ecotourism Ecotourism is a form of tourism involving responsible travel (using sustainable transport) to natural areas, conserving the environment, and improving the well-being of the local people. Its purpose may be to educate the traveler, to provide funds ...
, Jeep trekking (access to Nabatean ruins), mountain biking and hiking, stargazing and the upgrading of
Route 40 The following highways are numbered 40: International * European route E40 Argentina * National Route 40 Australia * NSW State Route 40 (Windsor Road and Victoria Road in Sydney) * Victorian State Route 40 * Mulligan Highway (Queensland) Br ...
, which is considered a more scenic route to Eilat, have improved the economy. Jerusalem Marble, one of a few major suppliers and overseas exporters of
Jerusalem stone Jerusalem stone (Hebrew: אבן ירושלמית; Arabic: حجر القدس) is a name applied to various types of pale limestone, dolomite and dolomitic limestone, common in and around Jerusalem that have been used in building since ancient tim ...
(established in 1923), inaugurated a state-of-the-art factory in Mitzpe Ramon in January 2000. Jerusalem Stone is exported globally. Mitzpe Ramon has six hotels and dozens of
bed and breakfast Bed and breakfast (typically shortened to B&B or BnB) is a small lodging establishment that offers overnight accommodation and breakfast. Bed and breakfasts are often private family homes and typically have between four and eleven rooms, wit ...
establishments. In 2011, the
Isrotel Isrotel Ltd. is an Israeli hotel chain. Most of its hotels are located in the city of Eilat Eilat ( , ; he, אֵילַת ; ar, إِيلَات, Īlāt) is Israel's southernmost city, with a population of , a busy port and popular resort at ...
hotel chain opened a luxury hotel, the Beresheet Hotel, in Mitzpe Ramon. The Tourism Ministry allocated NIS 9.5 million for infrastructure development in Mitzpe Ramon, and the Ministry for the Development of the Negev and Galilee financed the construction of a landing strip for light aircraft. In December 2013, plans were proposed for a
Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
-style
Casino A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live entertai ...
in the town.


Music and culture

The Mitzpe Ramon Jazz Club hosts musical ensembles on the weekend. On weekdays, it operates as a music school. 'Me'ever', a unique hostel and event space, located in the artist quarter of Mitzpe Ramon, designated to connect between creative people and interesting ideas.


Local government

The previous mayor, Flora Shoshan, sister of former Israeli defense minister
Amir Peretz Amir Peretz ( he, עָמִיר פֶּרֶץ; born on 9 March 1952) is an Israeli politician who served as a member of the Knesset for the Labor Party. A Knesset member almost continuously from 1988 to 2021, he has served as Minister of Defen ...
and wife of the former mayor, Sami Shoshan, was voted out on October 23, 2013, and replaced by Roni Marom, in a landslide victory for Marom.


Gallery

File:Mitzpe Ramon view.jpg, View of the town File:MitzpeRamon090109.jpg, Panorama of Mitzpe Ramon File:CamelHillMitzpeRamonMar262022 02.jpg, Camel Hill, Mitzpe Ramon, Makhtesh Ramon File:CamelHillMitzpeRamonMar262022 03.jpg, Camel Hill, Mitzpe Ramon, Makhtesh Ramon File:HarHanegevFieldSchoolMar262022 01.jpg, Har Hanegev Field School


See also

*
Geography of Israel The geography of Israel is very diverse, with desert conditions in the south, and snow-capped mountains in the north. Israel is located at the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea in Western Asia. It is bounded to the north by Lebanon, the nort ...
*
Wildlife of Israel The wildlife of Israel includes the flora and fauna of Israel, which is extremely diverse due to the country's location between the temperate and the tropical zones, bordering the Mediterranean Sea in the west and the desert in the east. Species ...
*
Ramon Airbase Ramon Airbase ( he, בסיס חיל-האוויר רמון , ''Basis Hayil-HaAvir Ramon'', lit. ''Ramon Air Force Base'') is an Israeli Air Force base southwest of Beersheba, near the town of Mitzpe Ramon. Also titled Kanaf 25 ( he, כנף 25, li ...
*
Wise Observatory The Florence and George Wise Observatory (IAU code 097) is an astronomical observatory owned and operated by Tel Aviv University. It is located west of the town of Mitzpe Ramon in the Negev desert near the edge of the Ramon Crater, and it is ...


References


External links

*
Mitzpe Ramon Local Council
(Hebrew)
Mitzpe Ramon High resolution virtual tours of the crater
(English)
Astronomy Israel
(English) {{Authority control Development towns Local councils in Southern District (Israel) 1951 establishments in Israel Populated places established in 1951