The Eye of the Sahara — formally the Richat Structure in Mauritania — was long thought by early space program analysts to be an impact crater, a theory that dominated scientific discussion until geological fieldwork in the 1990s confirmed it as an eroded symmetrical anticline. NASA astronauts used it as a landmark during orbital orientation training precisely because of its near-perfect circular geometry. Niue has issued a substantial number of geological and natural wonder silver rounds through the New Zealand Mint under licensing arrangements; KM#1349 falls squarely within that program.
The Eye of the Sahara — formally the Richat Structure in Mauritania — was long thought by early space program analysts to be an impact crater, a theory that dominated scientific discussion until geological fieldwork in the 1990s confirmed it as an eroded symmetrical anticline. NASA astronauts used it as a landmark during orbital orientation training precisely because of its near-perfect circular geometry. Niue has issued a substantial number of geological and natural wonder silver rounds through the New Zealand Mint under licensing arrangements; KM#1349 falls squarely within that program.