Ben Amera () is Africa's largest monolith, rising above the desert floor. It's the world's second largest

monolith A monolith is a geological feature consisting of a single massive stone or rock, such as some mountains. Erosion usually exposes the geological formations, which are often made of very hard and solid igneous or metamorphic rock. Some monolit ...

only behind

Uluru Uluru (; ), also known as Ayers Rock ( ) and officially gazetted as UluruAyers Rock, is a large sandstone monolith. It outcrop, crops out near the centre of Australia in the southern part of the Northern Territory, south-west of Alice Spri ...

, in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. Ben Amera is located in

Mauritania Mauritania, officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is a sovereign country in Maghreb, Northwest Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Western Sahara to Mauritania–Western Sahara border, the north and northwest, ...

, near the border with

Western Sahara Western Sahara is a territorial dispute, disputed territory in Maghreb, North-western Africa. It has a surface area of . Approximately 30% of the territory () is controlled by the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR); the remaining 70% is ...

. It lies north of the train track where the famous Iron Ore Train travels between Nouâdibhou and Choûm. Nearby, a lesser monolith, Aïsha lies a 20-minute drive to the west of Ben Amera. In 1999, a dozen artists of international fame celebrated the millennium by carving into the boulders at the base of Aïsha. A 4x4 vehicle and an experienced desert driver is required to handle the deep, sandy track out to Ben Amera, as there is no paving once leaving the road that runs from Atar to Zouerrat. Drivers can be hired in Atar. The rough path runs parallel to the tracks for the Iron Ore Train before crossing it at the mark. As of December 2018, there was a small encampment near the tracks and a security checkpoint. Whereas at one point in time fiches were required for foreign travelers at these types of checkpoints, now, a simple photocopy of the traveler's passport usually suffices.

Geological monoliths of Africa

Brandberg Mountain The Brandberg ( Damara: ; ) is Namibia's highest mountain. Location and extent Brandberg Mountain is located in former Damaraland, now Erongo, in the northwestern Namib Desert, near the coast, and covers an area of approximately 650 ...

, Namibia * Aso Rock, Nigeria *

Zuma Rock Zuma Rock is a large natural monolith, or inselberg, an igneous intrusion composed of gabbro and granodiorite, located in Madalla, a town in Niger State, Nigeria. It is situated in the west of Nigeria's capital, Abuja, along the main road from ...

, Nigeria

References

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External links

10 largest monoliths of the world
Natural monoliths Landforms of Mauritania {{Mauritania-geo-stub