A monolith is a geological feature such as a mountain, consisting of a single massive stone or rock, or a single piece of rock placed as, or within, a monument. Erosion usually exposes the geological formations, which are most often made of very hard and solid metamorphic or sedimentary rock.
The word derives from the Latin word monolithus from the Greek word μονόλιϑος (monolithos), derived from μόνος ("one" or "single") and λίϑος ("stone").
Geological monoliths
The three largest on Earth are:
- Mount Augustus, in Western Australia - 860m
- La Peña de Bernal, in Mexico
- Stone Mountain, in Stone Mountain Park, Stone Mountain, a suburb of Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Others include:
North America
- Beacon Rock, Columbia River Gorge, Washington, United States
- Bottleneck Peak and Moon, Sids Mountain, Utah, United States
- Devils Tower National Monument, Wyoming, United States
- El Capitan, Yosemite National Park, California, United States
- Enchanted Rock, Llano County, Texas, United States
- Haystack Rock, Clatsop County, Oregon, United States
- Looking Glass Rock, Transylvania County, North Carolina, United States
- Peña de Bernal, Querétaro, Mexico
- Petroforms, Manitoba, Canada, Wisconsin, USA
- Stawamus Chief, Squamish, British Columbia, Canada
- Stone Mountain, Stone Mountain, Georgia, United States
Europe
Africa
Asia
Australia
South America
Antarctica
Many of these have legends attached.
Monumental monoliths
A structure which has been excavated as a unit from a surrounding matrix or outcropping of rock.[1]
See also
Notes
- ^ Glossary. is a mountain that is made up of stone and clay.
External links
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- Regarding Uluru/Ayers Rock and earlier representations of it as the largest monolith -
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