Wikipedia's first sentence called it “geological phenomenon in which a large closed body of water gradually drains through a narrow outlet”. Today it says “unique geological landform found primarily in the negev desert of israel and the sinai peninsula of egypt”. The one-line description Wikipedia serves to search engines and AI systems read “Aerial view of Makhtesh Ramon, one of Israel's five makhteshes Makhtesh Gadol's southern "Ribs" The larger Arif”. It now reads “Landform of the Negev desert and Sinai peninsula View of Makhtesh Ramon , the largest of Israel's five makhteshes Makhtesh Gadol's southern "Ribs" The larger Arif”.
Measured, not asserted. Every count, date and revision on this page was taken from Wikipedia's own history and checked against the live article. The words quoted are theirs.
Machine-checked against the full current article on 2026-08-03.
We saved snapshots of this article over twenty years; you are reading the 2005 one. Red dashes: removed from Wikipedia since.Pale dots: rewritten; the numbered note shows what it says now.Red text: written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot.1 tap a number or a side note to jump between them
The opening as it read in 2005
A makhtesh is a geological phenomenon in which a large closed body of water gradually drains through a narrow outlet; the erosion process creates a crater-like valley. This phenomenon is unique to Israel . Although a makhtesh is often mistranslated as a crater , it is not a crater, because it is formed by water and not by a meteor. In Israel, there are three primary makhteshes: Makhtesh Ramon , ha-Makhtesh ha-Gadol (the Big Makhtesh), ha-Makhtesh ha-Katan (the Small Makhtesh).1
This is Wikipedia's own text, saved in our repository. Their copy of it is revision 17645967.
The opening as it stood in 2010 4 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Although commonly known as "craters" (a literal reading of the Hebrew, and due to the visual similarity), these formations are more accurately described as erosion cirques ( steephead valleys or box canyons ).A makhtesh has steep walls of resistant rock surrounding a deep closed valley which is usually drained by a single wadi .The valleys have limited vegetation and soil, containing a variety of different colored rocks and a diverse fauna and flora which has been protected and preserved over millions of years.The best known (and largest) makhtesh is Makhtesh Ramon of Israel's Negev desert.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 369249193.
The opening as it stood in 2015 1 passage from the previous snapshot no longer appear
Aerial view of Makhtesh Ramon, one of Israel's five makhteshim.Makhtesh Gadol's southern "Ribs" The larger Arif makhtesh.A makhtesh ( ( ), plural: ( ) – Makhteshim ) is a geological landform considered unique to the Negev desert of Israel and the Sinai peninsula of Egypt. A makhtesh has steep walls of resistant rock surrounding a deep closed valley which is usually drained by a single wadi . The valleys have limited vegetation and soil, containing a variety of different colored rocks and diverse fauna and flora . The best known and largest makhtesh is Makhtesh Ramon .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 665992666.
The opening as it stood in 2020
Aerial view of Makhtesh Ramon, one of Israel's five makhteshes Makhtesh Gadol's southern "Ribs" The larger Arif makhtesh A makhtesh ( ( ), 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 deep closed valley, which is usually drained by a single wadi . The valleys have limited vegetation and soil, containing a variety of different colored rocks and diverse fauna and flora . The best known and largest makhtesh is Makhtesh Ramon .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 959612463.
The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023
Landform of the Negev desert and Sinai pennisula View of Makhtesh Ramon , the largest of Israel's five makhteshes Makhtesh Gadol's southern "Ribs" The larger Arif makhtesh A makhtesh ( ( ), Hebrew plural: מַכְתְּשִׁים ( – 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 deep closed valley, which is usually drained by a single wadi . The valleys have limited vegetation and soil, containing a variety of different colored rocks and diverse fauna and flora . The best known and largest makhtesh is Makhtesh Ramon .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1173774081.
The opening as it stood in 2025
Landform of the Negev desert and Sinai peninsula View of Makhtesh Ramon , the largest of Israel's five makhteshes Makhtesh Gadol's southern "Ribs" The larger Arif makhtesh A makhtesh ( Hebrew : מַכְתֵּשׁ ( [maχˈteʃ] ), Hebrew plural: מַכְתְּשִׁים ( [ˌmaχteˈʃim] – Makhteshim ) is a geological landform found in the Negev desert of Israel and the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt. A makhtesh has steep walls of resistant rock surrounding a deep closed valley, which is usually drained by a single wadi . The valleys have limited vegetation and soil, containing a variety of different colored rocks and diverse fauna and flora . The best known and largest makhtesh is Makhtesh Ramon .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1254524945. This is our newest snapshot; the live article may have moved again since.
Today
Wikipedia's first sentence called it “geological phenomenon in which a large closed body of water gradually drains through a narrow outlet”. Today it says “unique geological landform found primarily in the negev desert of israel and the sinai peninsula of egypt”. The one-line description Wikipedia serves to search engines and AI systems read “Aerial view of Makhtesh Ramon, one of Israel's five makhteshes Makhtesh Gadol's southern "Ribs" The larger Arif”. It now reads “Landform of the Negev desert and Sinai peninsula View of Makhtesh Ramon , the largest of Israel's five makhteshes Makhtesh Gadol's southern "Ribs" The larger Arif”. Read the current article and compare.
2005
2010
2015
2020
Oct '23
2025
Counts in the opening at each snapshot. Green: the word gained ground. Red: it was cut. Grey: no change.
What Wikipedia says this is
Every article opens by defining its subject. This one was redefined since 2005, and today's defining sentence is their current revision.
Then
geological phenomenon in which a large closed body of water gradually drains through a narrow outlet
Now
unique geological landform found primarily in the negev desert of israel and the sinai peninsula of egypt
Struck red text is no longer in the article; dotted amber text was rewritten. Every revision id links to Wikipedia's copy; the text shown is our own saved copy. Data: /data. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA; quoted for the record; not affiliated with Wikipedia.
