Monolith
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{{Cleanup|date=February 2007}}
{{otheruses|Monolith (disambiguation)}}
A '''monolith''' is a geological feature such as a [[mountain]], consisting of a single massive [[Rock (geology)|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 rock|metamorphic]] or [[sedimentary rock|sedimentary]] rock.
The word derives from the [[Latin]] word ''monolithus'' from the [[Greek (language)|Greek]] word μονόλιϑος (''monolithos''), derived from μόνος ("one" or "single") and λίϑος ("stone").
[[image:Mount Augustus by Jan Van Der Hoeven.jpg|300px|right|thumb| [[Mount Augustus National Park|Mount Augustus]] is often claimed to be the largest monolith on Earth]]
==Geological monoliths==
The three largest on Earth are:
#[[Mount Augustus National Park|Mount Augustus]], in [[Western Australia]] - 860m
#[[La Peña de Bernal]], in [[Mexico]]
#[[Stone Mountain]], in Stone Mountain Park, [[Stone Mountain, Georgia|Stone Mountain]], a suburb of [[Atlanta]], [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]], [[USA]]
Others include:
=== 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|Llano County]], [[Texas]], [[United States]]
* [[Haystack Rock]], [[Clatsop County, Oregon|Clatsop County]], [[Oregon]], [[United States]]
* [[Looking Glass Rock]], [[Transylvania County, North Carolina|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]]
=== 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]])
* [[Natural Park of Peñón de Ifach|Peñon de Ifach]] [[Calpe]], [[Spain]]
* [[Rock of Gibraltar]], [[Gibraltar]]
=== Africa ===
* [[Ben Amera]], [[Mauritania]]
* [[Brandberg Mountain]], [[Namibia]]
* [[Aso Rock]], [[Nigeria]] - 400m
* [[Zuma Rock]], [[Nigeria]]
=== Asia ===
* [[Savandurga]]
* [[Gilbert Hill]]
=== Australia ===
* [[Bald Rock]], near [[Tenterfield]], [[New South Wales]]
* [[Mount Coolum]], [[Queensland]]
* [[Mount Wudinna]], near [[Wudinna, South Australia|Wudinna]], [[South Australia]]
* [[Kokerbin Rock]], [[Western Australia]]
* [[Uluru|Uluru (Ayers Rock)]], [[Northern Territory]], [[Australia]]
=== South America ===
* [[Towers of Paine]], [[Chile]]
* [[Pao de Acucar]], [[Brazil]]
=== Antarctica ===
* [[Scullin monolith]]
* [[leargh Rock]]
Many of these have legends attached.
==Monumental monoliths==
[[Image:Kailash2.jpg|thumb|right|300px|[[Ellora Caves]], temple in [[India]]]]
A structure which has been excavated as a unit from a surrounding matrix or outcropping of rock.<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.art-and-archaeology.com/india/glossary1.html#monolith
|title=Glossary
|publisher=
is a mountain that is made up of stone and clay
}}</ref>
* Top stone on the [[Mausoleum of Theodoric]], [[Ravenna]]
* [[Aztec calendar]] "Stone of the Sun"
* [[Stonehenge]] contains several
* [[Ellora Caves]] - [[UNESCO World Heritage Site]]
* [[Runestone]]s
* [[Stone circle]]
* [[Standing stones]]
* [[Stelae]]
* [[Obelisk]]s - 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==
<references/>
==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
[[Category:Geomorphology]]
[[Category:Stones]]
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