Story behind oddly-shaped mountain in flat Saudi desert

A weird-looking mountain amid Saudi Arabia’s flat desert stands tall with its unique form, looking like a piece of cake. It is locally known as the famed “Jouda's finger,” and lies on the Joudy path near the Eastern Region, 150 km away from Dammam.

The giant structure has been mentioned in old and modern discerption of trips in the area, a landmark for passers on the Joudy path linking between the Ihsaa oasis and Al-Yamama region since the past.

The area where the "desert cake" -- like many locals like to call it -- is located was considered among the integral trade routes in the Arabian Peninsula desert.

The sedimentary mountain, that includes caves formed by water and winds, has been formed over thousands of years by the pure water covering the region.

Geology professor at King Saud Univeristy, Abdel Aziz bin Laboon, that this finger like some people refer to remained alone amid the flat desert after land around melted millions of years ago. It stayed strong in the face of all the geological changes that had hit the area.

He also added that Saudi Arabia is a major theater for geology students, where great changes in the land are of interest to scholars.