I spent time in a VERY remote part of the Sudan, but it was closer to the Sahara. It was at one time a great inland sea with islands scattered throughout. It also had (and has) great mineral wealth. I remember looking at the gravel we had there and it was mostly coral with interspersed geodes and rocks with tiny bits of gold in them.
I wish I could have seen that inland sea when it was in its full glory. It must have been the equivalent of a thousand square miles of a south pacific lagoon.
Even viewing its bones is awe inspiring.
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The view at 20,000 ft. As you fly along you can see meteor impact craters, and what obviously were at one time islands.
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Those small bluffs you see are actually what were at one time coral reefs and a shore as far as I can tell.
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And you can see the view as it usually is when unmagnified.