monolith

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 igneous rock.

The word derives from the Latin word monolithus from the Greek word μονόλιθος (monolithos), derived from μόνος ("one" or "single") and λίθος ("stone").

Mount Augustus is often claimed to be the largest monolith on Earth

Geological monoliths

Several monoliths are claimed to be the largest on Earth, including:

• Mount Augustus (Burringurrah), in Western Australia
• Stone Mountain, in Stone Mountain Park, Stone Mountain, a suburb of Atlanta, Georgia, USA
• Uluru (Ayers Rock), Northern Territory, Australia
• Pine Mountain, Victoria, Australia
• El Capitan, Yosemite National Park, California, United States
• Pão de Açúcar, Brazil
• La Peña de Bernal, in Mexico, claims to be the second largest.^[1][2][3][4]

These claims are rarely backed up by geological information and may be based upon a single dimension such as height or circumference. Height may be measured above sea level or the surrounding ground.

Other large, well-known monoliths include:

Africa

Landsat 7 image Brandberg Massif, Namibia

• Ben Amera, Mauritania
• Brandberg Mountain, Namibia
• Aso Rock, Nigeria
• Zuma Rock, Nigeria

Antarctica

• Scullin monolith
• Leargh Rock

Asia

Savandurga, India from the northern side

• Savandurga, India
• Madhugiri Betta, India
• Gilbert hillek

Australia

• Bald Rock, near Tenterfield, New South Wales
• Mount Coolum, Queensland
• Mount Wudinna, near Wudinna, South Australia
• Kokerbin Rock, Western Australia

Europe

Rock of Gibraltar

• Kalamos, Anafi, Greece
• Frau Holle Stone, near Fulda, Germany
• Humber Stone, Humberstone, near Leicester, England.
• King Arthur's Stone (Cornwall)
• Logan Rock (Trereen, Cornwall)
• Odin Stone (Stenhouse, Orkney; destroyed in 1814)
• Peñon de Ifach Calpe, Spain
• Rock of Gibraltar, Gibraltar

North America

United States

Beacon Rock, Washington viewed from the west

• Beacon Rock, Columbia River Gorge, Washington, United States
• Bottleneck Peak and Moon, Sids Mountain, Utah, United States
• Chimney Rock, Bayard, Nebraska
• Courthouse and Jail Rocks, Bridgeport, Nebraska
• Devils Tower National Monument, Wyoming, United States
• Enchanted Rock, Llano County, Texas, United States
• Half Dome, Yosemite National Park, California
• Haystack Rock, Clatsop County, Oregon, United States
• Looking Glass Rock, Transylvania County, North Carolina, United States
• Petroforms, Manitoba, Canada, Wisconsin, USA
• Scotts Bluff National Monument, Gering, Nebraska
• Stone Mountain, Stone Mountain, Georgia

Canada and Mexico

This section requires expansion.

Stawamus Chief as seen from Valleycliffe neighborhood in Squamish

• Stawamus Chief, Squamish, British Columbia, Canada
• Satsalla Peak, British Columbia, Canada

South America

• Torres del Paine, Chile
• El Penol, Colombia

Many of these have legends attached.^{[citation needed]}

Monumental monoliths

Gomateswara 983 CE, a Jain god, world's largest standing monolith image

Ellora Caves, temple in India

A structure which has been excavated as a unit from a surrounding matrix or outcropping of rock.^[5]

• Top stone on the Mausoleum of Theodoric, Ravenna
• Aztec calendar "Stone of the Sun"
• Great Sphinx of Giza "The Egyptian Sphinx"
• Stonehenge contains several
• Ellora Caves - UNESCO World Heritage Site
• Gomateswara or Lord Bahubali at Sravanabelagola, Karnataka
• Runestones
• Stone circle
• Standing stones
• Stelae
• Obelisks - see this article for a list
• Ogham Stone, Dingle Peninsula, Ireland
• Adam and Eve Stones, Avebury, Wiltshire, England
• Manzanar National Historic Landmark, USA
• Vijayanagara Empire#Architecture medieval South Indian carved examples

See also

• Megalith
• Monolithic architecture
• Monadnock (or inselberg)
• Phobos monolith

Notes

1. ^ López Domínguez, Leonor (May 2001). "Villa de Bernal and its Magic Mountain". México Desconocido #291. http://www.mexicodesconocido.com.mx/contenidos/home.html?p=nota&idNota=8897. 
2. ^ "Peña de Bernal - Bernal - Queretaro" (in spanish). http://www.de-paseo.com/Bernal/Bernal.htm. Retrieved 25 November 2008. 
3. ^ Cava Northrop, Laura; Dwight L. Curtis, Inc. Let'S Go, Natalie Sherman, Raul Carrillo (2007). Let's Go Mexico: On a Budget. Macmillan. p. 370. ISBN 9780312374525. 
4. ^ Escobar Ledesma, Agustín (1999). Recetario del semidesierto de Querétaro: Acoyos, rejalgares y tantarrias. Conaculta. p. 75. ISBN 9789701839102. 
5. ^ "Glossary". is a mountain that is made up of stone and clay. http://www.art-and-archaeology.com/india/glossary1.html#monolith. 

External links

• • Regarding Uluru/Ayers Rock and earlier representations of it as the largest monolith -
• http://www.ga.gov.au/education/facts/landforms/uluru.htm
• http://www.abc.net.au/science/k2/moments/s1469595.htm
• http://www.wayoutback.com.au/uluru-geology.php