A monolith is a geological feature consisting of a single massive

stone In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...

or rock, such as some

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher t ...

Erosion Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as Surface runoff, water flow or wind) that removes soil, Rock (geology), rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust#Crust, Earth's crust and then sediment transport, tran ...

usually exposes the geological formations, which are often made of very hard and solid

igneous Igneous rock ( ), or magmatic rock, is one of the three main rock types, the others being sedimentary and metamorphic. Igneous rocks are formed through the cooling and solidification of magma or lava. The magma can be derived from partial ...

metamorphic rock Metamorphic rocks arise from the transformation of existing rock to new types of rock in a process called metamorphism. The original rock ( protolith) is subjected to temperatures greater than and, often, elevated pressure of or more, caus ...

. Some monoliths are

volcanic plug A volcanic plug, also called a volcanic neck or lava neck, is a volcano, volcanic object created when magma hardens within a Volcanic vent, vent on an active volcano. When present, a plug can cause an extreme build-up of high gas pressure if risi ...

s, solidified lava filling the vent of an extinct

volcano A volcano is commonly defined as a vent or fissure in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most oft ...

. In architecture, the term has considerable overlap with

megalith A megalith is a large stone that has been used to construct a prehistoric structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. More than 35,000 megalithic structures have been identified across Europe, ranging geographically f ...

, which is normally used for

prehistory Prehistory, also called pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the first known use of stone tools by hominins million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use ...

, and may be used in the contexts of

rock-cut architecture Rock-cut architecture is the creation of structures, buildings, and sculptures by excavating solid Rock (geology), rock where it naturally occurs. Intensely laborious when using ancient tools and methods, rock-cut architecture was presumably combi ...

that remains attached to solid rock, as in

monolithic church A monolithic church or rock-hewn church is a church made from a single block of stone. Because freestanding rocks of sufficient size are rare, such edifices are usually hewn into the ground or into the side of a hill or mountain. They can be of ...

, or for exceptionally large stones such as

obelisk An obelisk (; , diminutive of (') ' spit, nail, pointed pillar') is a tall, slender, tapered monument with four sides and a pyramidal or pyramidion top. Originally constructed by Ancient Egyptians and called ''tekhenu'', the Greeks used th ...

s, statues,

monolithic column A monolithic column or single-piece column is a large column of which the shaft is made from a single piece of stone instead of in vertical sections. Smaller columns are very often made from single pieces of stone, but are less often described a ...

s or large

architrave In classical architecture, an architrave (; , also called an epistyle; ) is the lintel or beam, typically made of wood or stone, that rests on the capitals of columns. The term can also apply to all sides, including the vertical members, ...

s, that may have been moved a considerable distance after quarrying. It may also be used of large

glacial erratic A glacial erratic is a glacially deposited rock (geology), rock differing from the type of country rock (geology), rock native to the area in which it rests. Erratics, which take their name from the Latin word ' ("to wander"), are carried by gla ...

s moved by natural forces. The word derives, via the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

, from the

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

word (), from () meaning "one" or "single" and () meaning "stone".

Geological monoliths

Large, well-known monoliths include:

Africa

Aso Rock Aso Rock is a large outcrop of granitic rock located on the outskirts of Abuja, the capital of Nigeria. The Aso Rock is a prominent monolith with a peak height of above sea level. It is one of the city's most noticeable features. The Nigerian ...

, Nigeria *

Ben Amera Ben Amera () is Africa's largest monolith, rising above the desert floor. It's the world's second largest monolith only behind Uluru, in Australia. Ben Amera is located in Mauritania, near the border with Western Sahara. It lies north of the tra ...

, Mauritania *

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 *

Sibebe Sibebe is a granite mountain in Eswatini, located 10 km from the capital city Mbabane. It is the second-largest monolith in the world and the largest exposed granite pluton,

, Eswatini *

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 *

Mount Lubiri Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest. Mount or Mounts may also refer to: Places * Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England * Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, ...

, Angola * Mount Poi, Kenya *

Great Sphinx of Giza The Great Sphinx of Giza is a limestone statue of a reclining sphinx, a mythical creature with the head of a human and the body of a lion. Facing east, it stands on the Giza Plateau on the west bank of the Nile in Giza, Egypt. The original sh ...

Oruku Rock Oruku is a community in Enugu State, Nigeria. Government The local government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative ...

, Ososo, Edo State, Nigeria

Antarctica

* Scullin monolith

Asia

Batu Caves Batu Caves is a 325-m tall mogote with a series of limestone caves in Gombak, Selangor, Malaysia. It is located about north of the capital city of Kuala Lumpur. The cave complex contains many Hindu temples, the most popular of which is a shri ...

Selangor Selangor ( ; ), also known by the Arabic language, Arabic honorific Darul Ehsan, or "Abode of Sincerity", is one of the 13 states of Malaysia. It is on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and is bordered by Perak to the north, Pahang to the e ...

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

Ahmedabad Ahmedabad ( ), also spelled Amdavad (), is the most populous city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ahmedabad district and the seat of the Gujarat High Court. Ahmedabad's population of 5,570,585 ...

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

Gilbert Hill Gilbert Hill is a monolith column of black basalt rock at Andheri, in Mumbai, India. The rock has a sheer vertical face and was formed when molten lava was squeezed out of the Earth's clefts during the Mesozoic Era about 66 million years ago ...

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...

Kailasa temple The Kailash (IAST: Kailasa) or Kailashanatha (IAST: Kailāśanātha) temple is the largest of the rock-cut Hindu temples at the Ellora Caves in Aurangabad district, Maharashtra of Maharashtra, India. A megalith carved into a cliff face, it is ...

Ellora The Ellora Caves are a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Aurangabad, India. It is one of the largest rock-cut cave complexes in the world, with artwork dating from the period 600–1000 AD, including Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain caves., Quote: "The ...

Namakkal Fort Namakkal Fort is a historic fort present in Namakkal in Namakkal district in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The fort was built during the reign of Thirumalai Nayak of Madurai Nayak, Madurai in 17th century. It was under the dominion of T ...

Namakkal Namakkal () is a city and the headquarters of Namakkal district, Tamil Nadu. It is the first ISO 14001-2004 certified municipality in Asia for environmental management, specifically the provision and maintenance of water supply, solid wast ...

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

Malaikottai ''Malaikottai'' () is a 2007 Indian Tamil-language action film written and directed by Boopathy Pandian. The film stars Vishal, Priyamani, Devaraj, Ajay, Ashish Vidyarthi, and Urvashi. The music was composed by Mani Sharma, while the ...

Trichy Tiruchirappalli (), also known as Trichy, is a major tier II city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Tiruchirappalli district. The city is credited with being the best livable and the cleanest city of T ...

* St. Thomas Mount,

Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...

Bellary Fort The Bellary Fort ("Bellary Kote") was built on top of a hill called the "Ballari Gudda" or the Fort Hill. It is situated in the historic city of Bellary, in the Bellary district, in Karnataka state, India. It was built in two parts namely, the U ...

Bellary Ballari (formerly Bellary) is a city in the Ballari district in state of Karnataka, India. Ballari houses many steel plants such as JSW Vijayanagar, one of the largest in Asia. Ballari district is also known as the ‘Steel city of South Ind ...

Madhugiri Madhugiri is a city in Tumkur district in the Indian state of Karnataka. The city derives its name from a hillock, Madhu-giri (honey-hill) which lies to its south. Madhugiri is one of the 34 educational districts of the Karnataka state. Geogr ...

Betta,

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

Yana Yana may refer to: Locations *Yana, Burma, a village in Hkamti Township in Hkamti District in the Sagaing Region of northwestern Burma * Yana, India, a village in the Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka, India * Yana, Nigeria, an administrative c ...

Bhongir, Telangana Bhongir, also known as Bhuvanagiri or Bhongiri, is a city and a district headquarters of the Yadadri Bhuvanagiri district and part of the Hyderabad Metropolitan Region of the Indian state of Telangana. History Bhongir Fort is in Yadadri-B ...

* Ekasila,

Warangal Warangal () is a city in the Indian state of Telangana and the district headquarters of Warangal district. It is the second largest city in Telangana with a population of 811,844 per 2011 Census of India, and spreading over an . Warangal serv ...

* Mount Kelam,

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

* Mount Pico de Loro,

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

* Mount Pulumbato,

Sangla Hill Sangla Hill is a city in the Nankana Sahib District of the Punjab Province of Pakistan. It lies 103 km from the provincial capital of Lahore and 47 km from Faisalabad. Until 2005, it was part of Sheikhupura Sheikhupura (Punjabi language, Punj ...

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

Savandurga Savandurga is a hill 60 km west of Bengaluru, Karnataka, off the Magadi road in India. It is the largest monolith hills in Asia. The hill rises to 1226 m above mean sea level and forms a part of the Deccan plateau. It consists of peninsula ...

Sigiriya Sigiriya or Sinhagiri (''Lion Rock'' , , pronounced SEE-gi-ri-yə) is an ancient rock fortress located in the northern Matale District near the town of Dambulla in the Central Province, Sri Lanka. It is a site of historical and archaeologic ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

Australia

* Bald Rock, near

Tenterfield, New South Wales Tenterfield is a regional town in New South Wales, Australia, situated at the junction of the New England and Bruxner highways, along the Northern Tablelands, within the New England, New South Wales, New England region. At the , Tenterfield ha ...

* Mount Augustus (Burringurrah), Western Australia (NOTE: this is not actually monolith as popularly claimed, but, rather, a

monocline A monocline (or, rarely, a monoform) is a step-like fold in rock strata consisting of a zone of steeper dip within an otherwise horizontal or gently dipping sequence. Formation Monoclines may be formed in several different ways (see diagram) ...

) * Mount Coolum, Queensland * Mount Wudinna, South Australia *

Pine Mountain Pine Mountain may refer to: Natural formations Australia * Pine Mountain (Victoria), large monolith located in Burrowa-Pine Mountain National Park United States * Pine Mountain Wilderness, a protected wilderness area in Prescott National Fore ...

, Victoria *

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 ...

, Northern Territory

Europe

* Kalamos,

Anafi Anafi or Anaphe (; ) is a Greek island community in the Cyclades. In 2021, it had a population of 293. Its land area is . It lies east of the island of Thíra (Santorini). Anafi is part of the Thira regional unit. History According to mytholo ...

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

* Katskhi Pillar,

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

* Levski G.,

Sofia Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

Logan Rock The Logan Rock (, meaning ''balanced stone'') near the village of Treen in Cornwall, United Kingdom, is an example of a logan or rocking stone. Although it weighs some 80 tons, it was dislodged in 1824 by a group of British seamen, intent on ...

Treen Treen (literally "of a tree") is a generic name for small handmade functional household objects made of wood. Treen is distinct from furniture, such as chairs, and cabinetry, as well as clocks and cupboards. Before the late 17th century, when sil ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

* Monolithe de Sardières, Sollières-Sardières,

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Penyal d'Ifac Penyal d'Ifac Natural Park (, ) is a natural park situated in Calpe, in the Valencian Community, Spain. The Penyal d'Ifac is a massive limestone outcrop emerging from the sea and linked to the shore by an isthmus of rock debris. It is home to ...

Calpe Calpe (; ) is a coastal municipality located in the ''comarca'' of Marina Alta, in the province of Alicante, Valencian Community, Spain, by the Mediterranean Sea. It has an area of and a population density of . The city lies at the foot of the ...

Valencian Community The Valencian Community is an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain. It is the fourth most populous Spanish Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community after Andalusia, Catalonia and the Community of Madrid wit ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

Peña de Arcos Peña, meaning "rocky outcrop" or "rocky summit" in the Spanish language (Aragonese: ''Penya'', Catalan: ''Penya''), may refer to: Mountains *Peña Montañesa, a mountain in the Pre-Pyrenees, Aragon, Spain * Peña de los Enamorados, a mountain ne ...

Arcos de la Frontera Arcos de la Frontera () is a town and municipality in the Sierra de Cádiz comarca, province of Cádiz (province), Cádiz, in Andalusia, Spain. Location Arcos de la Frontera is 64 km N-E of Cádiz and 35 km E-N-E of Jerez de la Front ...

Andalusia Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomou ...

* Peña de los Enamorados, Antequera,

(a World Heritage Site) * Rauk, Sweden * Rock of Gibraltar, Gibraltar * Rock of Monaco, Monaco-Ville, Monaco * Rock Cappa, San Luca, Italy

North America

United States

* Angels Landing, Zion National Park, Utah * Beacon Rock State Park, Beacon Rock, Columbia River Gorge, Washington * Bottleneck Peak, Sids Mountain, Utah * Pineville, West Virginia, Castle Rock, Pineville, West Virginia * Chimney Rock National Historic Site, Chimney Rock, Bayard, Nebraska * Chimney Rock State Park, Chimney Rock, Chimney Rock, North Carolina * Courthouse and Jail Rocks, Bridgeport, Nebraska * Devils Tower, Wyoming * El Capitan, Yosemite National Park, California * Enchanted Rock, Llano County, Texas * Frog Woman Rock, Mendocino County, California * Great White Throne (mountain), Great White Throne, Zion National Park, Utah * Half Dome, Yosemite National Park, California * Haystack Rock, Clatsop County, Oregon * Looking Glass Rock, Transylvania County, North Carolina * Moro Rock, Sequoia National Park, California * Quincy Quarries Reservation, Quincy, Massachusetts * Scotts Bluff National Monument, Gering, Nebraska * Shiprock, San Juan County, New Mexico * Stone Mountain, Stone Mountain, Georgia * Stone Mountain (North Carolina), Stone Mountain, Stone Mountain, North Carolina * Tooth of Time, Cimarron, New Mexico * Wolf Rock, Oregon, Wolf Rock, Linn County, Oregon

Canada

* Stawamus Chief, Squamish, British Columbia * Mingan Archipelago National Park Reserve#Photos, Mingan Archipelago National Park Reserve, Quebec' ' '

Mexico

* La Peña de Bernal, Queretaro; claimed to be the world's third-largest monolith * Las Piedrotas, near the town of Tapalpa, Jalisco.

South America

* Cochamó Valley, Several granitic monoliths, Chile * El Peñón de Guatapé, El Peñón, also known as El Peñol Stone or simply La Piedra, Colombia * Pão de Açúcar, Brazil * Pedra da Gávea, Brazil the world's largest monolith on the coastline * Pedra da Galinha Choca, Brazil * Torres del Paine, Chile

Outside Earth

* Phobos monolith on Phobos (moon), Phobos * Mars monolith

Monumental monoliths

A structure which has been excavated as a unit from a surrounding matrix or outcropping of rock. * Aztec calendar stone – "Stone of the Sun" * The Church of Saint George, Lalibela, Church of Saint George in Lalibela, Ethiopia, is one of a number of monolithic churches in Ethiopia. * The vast monoliths which went into the walls of Osaka Castle, Japan. * Coyolxauhqui Stone another Aztec monolith * Ellora Caves – UNESCO World Heritage Site *

– "The Egyptian Sphinx" * Gommateshwara statue of Bahubali at Sravanabelagola, Carnataca, India * Obelisks – see this article for a list * Ogham inscription, Ogham stones, inscribed standing stones throughout Ireland * Runestones * Standing stones * Stelae * Stone circle * Stone of the Pregnant Woman, Baalbek * Stonehenge in present-day England * The Longstones or the Devil's Quoits, Avebury, Wiltshire, England * Architecture of Vijayanagar in present-day south India

References

External links

* Regarding Uluru/Ayers Rock and earlier representations of it as the largest monolith
GA.gov.auWayoutback.com.au
{{Authority control Monoliths, Sandstone Geomorphology Geography terminology Outdoor sculptures, Rock formations,