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

Several monoliths claim 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
• El Capitan, Yosemite National Park, California, United States
• Pao de Acucar, Brazil
• La Peña de Bernal, in Mexico, claims to be the second largest.

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

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

Antarctica

• Scullin monolith
• leargh Rock

Asia

• Savandurga
• Madhugiri Betta
• Gilbert Hill

Australia

• Bald Rock, near Tenterfield, New South Wales
• Mount Augustus (Burringurrah), in Western Australia
• Mount Coolum, Queensland
• Mount Wudinna, near Wudinna, South Australia
• Kokerbin Rock, Western Australia
• Uluru (Ayers Rock), Northern Territory, Australia

Europe

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

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

South America

• Towers of Paine, Chile
• Pao de Acucar, Brazil
• El Penol,Colombia

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.

• Top stone on the Mausoleum of Theodoric, Ravenna
• Aztec calendar "Stone of the Sun"
• 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)

Notes