A pinnacle, tower, spire, needle or natural tower (german: Felsnadel, ''Felsturm'' or ''Felszinne'') in geology is an individual column of
rock, isolated from other rocks or groups of rocks, in the shape of a vertical shaft or spire.
Examples are the summits of the
Aiguille du Midi in the
Mont Blanc massif
The Mont Blanc massif (french: Massif du Mont-Blanc; it, Massiccio del Monte Bianco) is a mountain range in the Alps, located mostly in France and Italy, but also straddling Switzerland at its northeastern end. It contains eleven major indep ...
in
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, the almost 43-metre-high
Barbarine
The Barbarine is the best-known free-standing rock formation in the German part of the Elbe Sandstone Mountains. It is a rock pinnacle, high, and is the symbol of Saxon Switzerland. It was first climbed on 19 September 1905.
Location
The Barba ...
on the south side of the
Pfaffenstein hill near
Königstein in
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...
, or the
Bischofsmütze, the
Drei Zinnen
The Tre Cime di Lavaredo (; ), also called the Drei Zinnen (; ), are three distinctive battlement-like peaks, in the Sexten Dolomites of northeastern Italy. They are probably one of the best-known mountain groups in the Alps. The three peaks, ...
and the
Vajolet Towers in the
Dolomites
The Dolomites ( it, Dolomiti ; Ladin: ''Dolomites''; german: Dolomiten ; vec, Dołomiti : fur, Dolomitis), also known as the Dolomite Mountains, Dolomite Alps or Dolomitic Alps, are a mountain range located in northeastern Italy. They form pa ...
, which are rich in such towers. An area of
limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms w ...
formations within
Nambung National Park, near the town of
Cervantes, Western Australia
Cervantes is a town in Western Australia located off of Indian Ocean Drive about north-north-west of the state capital, Perth in the Shire of Dandaragan local government area. At the 2016 census, Cervantes had a population of 527. The town ...
, is known as
The Pinnacles.
File:Cerro Torre.jpg, Cerro Torre 3,133 m (south flank ~2,150 m), Patagonia, Argentina/Chile
File:Barbarine001.jpg, The Barbarine
The Barbarine is the best-known free-standing rock formation in the German part of the Elbe Sandstone Mountains. It is a rock pinnacle, high, and is the symbol of Saxon Switzerland. It was first climbed on 19 September 1905.
Location
The Barba ...
(43 m high), Saxon Switzerland, Germany
File:Vajolett-Tuerme.jpg, The Vajolet Towers 2,790 m (main tower 120 m high), South Tyrol
it, Provincia Autonoma di Bolzano – Alto Adige lld, Provinzia Autonoma de Balsan/Bulsan – Südtirol
, settlement_type = Autonomous province
, image_skyline =
, image_alt ...
, Italy
File:TH Phang Nga - James Bond Island.jpg, Khao Ta Pu (known as James Bond
The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors hav ...
Island) off Khao Phing Kan, Thailand
File:Pinnacles gnangarra-62.jpg, The Pinnacles, Nambung National Park, Western Australia
File:Rock pinnacle, Yaverland, IW, UK.jpg, Small sandstone
Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks.
Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicat ...
rock pinnacle at Yaverland, Isle of Wight, UK, formed as a result of cliff erosion
File:Top of the Rock, Branson, Missouri, USA.jpg, Top of the Rock Golf Course Limestone Pinnacles (excavated to a depth of 60 m in areas), Branson, Missouri, USA
File:Debre Sema'it rock chuch.jpg, Debre Sema'it rock church on the top of a pinnacle in Ethiopia
See also
*
Hoodoo
*
Kigilyakh
Kigilyakh or kisiliyakh ( rus, кигиляхи; sah, киһилээх, meaning "stone person") are tall, pillar-like natural rock formations looking like tall monoliths standing more or less isolated. Usually they are composed of granite or ...
*
Pinnacles National Park
*
Pyramidal peak
A pyramidal peak, sometimes called a glacial horn in extreme cases, is an angular, sharply pointed mountain peak which results from the cirque erosion due to multiple glaciers diverging from a central point. Pyramidal peaks are often examples ...
*
Stack (geology)
A stack or sea stack is a geological landform consisting of a steep and often vertical column or columns of rock in the sea near a coast, formed by wave erosion. Stacks are formed over time by wind and water, processes of coastal geomorpholo ...
*
Totem pole (Monument Valley)
*
Trango Towers
External links
Landforms
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