Mitzpe Ramon (Hebrew: מִצְפֵּה רָמוֹן‎, lit. Ramon Lookout) is a town in the Negev desert of southern Israel. It is situated on the northern ridge at an elevation of 800 meters (2,400 feet) overlooking a sizable erosion cirque known as the Ramon Crater. This crater, or makhtesh, as it is called in Hebrew, is 28 miles long and five miles wide. As of 2008, Mitzpe Ramon has a population of 5,500 residents. The mayor is Flora Shoshan, sister of former Israeli defense minister Amir Peretz. Her husband, Sami Shoshan, was the previous mayor.