(CNN) --
It could be dismissed as a mirage in the blazing heat of the Saudi desert, but photographer Khaled Al Enazi has the footage to prove he really did see a giant, fish-shaped boulder sticking out of the sand.
Al Enazi captured images of the unusual formation using a drone while surveying the archaeological treasures of Al-Ula County in Saudi Arabia, an area known for ancient structures comparable to the city of Petra in Jordan.
"While I was documenting the area, a view of a mountain appeared in front of me, its shape suggesting a fish in the heart of the desert," he told CNN via email.
Al Enazi says he's probably not the first person to encounter the rock formation, but he thinks his aerial perspective meant he was the first to notice its curious shape.
"A photographer's eye sees what people don't see," he said.
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The photographer appropriately named the rock Desert Fish.
In drone footage recorded by Al Enazi in June of this year, the rock formation resembles an aquatic creature swimming across the sand, its dorsal fin-like structures also suggesting it could be a shark emerging from the depths to stalk a shark. his prey.
viral sensation
Since his images were shared, Al Enazi has had to disappoint imaginative social media users who claim that the rocks are actually the remains of a giant sea beast.
https://cnnespanol.cnn.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/desert-fish-saudi.mp4
“Some have mentioned that it is a real fish that fossilized millions of years ago, but it is not so,” he said.
"It's sandstone formed by many factors."
The Desert Fish video shared in a tweet in July has amassed more than 29,000 views.
The photographer is currently working on creating his own YouTube channel dedicated to documenting the Al-Ula region and its fascinating landscape.
Covering nearly 9,000 square miles (22,500 square kilometers), Al-Ula County is home to one of the world's most dramatic desert scenes.
The ancient Nabateans established their main southern city just north of the Al-Ula valley and carved spectacular tombs into rock outcroppings at Mada'in Salih, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Some of Al-Ula's rocks, carved by the elements, have taken on strikingly sculptural and human forms.
One rock, known locally as Jabal Al-Fil, is famous for its resemblance to an elephant.
