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 monoliths are volcanic plugs, solidified lava filling the vent of an extinct volcano.

For other uses, see Monolith (disambiguation).
Uluru, Northern Territory, Australia, is often referred to as the biggest monolith. While the surrounding rocks were eroded, the rock survived as sandstone strata making up the surviving Uluru 'monolith'.
Monolithos fortress on Rhodes, Greece
Landsat 7 image Brandberg Mountain, Namibia
Gavea Rock, a monolith next to the sea, near Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

In architecture, the term has considerable overlap with megalith, which is normally used for prehistory, and may be used in the contexts of rock-cut architecture that remains attached to solid rock, as in monolithic church, or for exceptionally large stones such as obelisks, statues, monolithic columns or large architraves, that may have been moved a considerable distance after quarrying. It may also be used of large glacial erratics moved by natural forces.

The word derives, via the Latin monolithus, from the Ancient Greek word μονόλιθος (monólithos), from μόνος (mónos) meaning "one" or "single" and λίθος (líthos) meaning "stone".

Geological monoliths

Large, well-known monoliths include:

Africa

Antarctica

Asia
Savandurga, India, from the northern side
Sangla Hill, Pakistan

Australia

Europe
Penyal d'Ifac, Spain

United States
Beacon Rock, Washington, viewed from the west
El Capitan in Yosemite
Stawamus Chief as seen from Valleycliffe neighborhood in Squamish, British Columbia

Canada

Mexico

Las piedrotas near the town of Tapalpa, Jalisco.

South America
El Peñón, monolith in Colombia, located in Antioquia

Outside Earth

Monumental monoliths
See also: List of ancient architectural records, List of ancient monoliths, and List of largest monoliths in the world

A structure which has been excavated as a unit from a surrounding matrix or outcropping of rock.[7]

See also
  • Granite dome – Rounded hills of bare granite formed by exfoliation
  • Bornhardt – A large dome-shaped, steep-sided, bald rock
  • Inselberg – Isolated, steep rock hill on relatively flat terrain
  • Butte – Isolated hill with steep, often vertical sides and a small, relatively flat top
  • Kigilyakh – Natural tall rock pillars in Yakutia
  • Megalith – Large stone used to build a structure or monument
  • Menhir – Large upright standing stone
  • Monadnock – Isolated, steep rock hill on relatively flat terrain (or inselberg)
  • Monolith (Space Odyssey) – Fictional artefacts from Arthur C. Clarke's Space Odyssey novels
  • Monolithic architecture – Buildings carved or excavated from a single material, usually rock
  • Monolithos (Rhodes) – human settlement
  • Utah Monolith – Modern structure of unknown origin in southern Utah

References
  1. Lee (2018-01-31). "A Guide To The Batu Caves, Kuala Lumpur". The Culture Trip. Retrieved 2020-12-11.
  2. Siddeshwar (2017-06-03). "Journeys across Karnataka: Ekasila Gutta, Warangal fort". Journeys across Karnataka. Retrieved 2020-11-28.
  3. López Domínguez, Leonor (May 2001). "Villa de Bernal and its Magic Mountain". México Desconocido #291. Archived from the original on 2015-03-13.
  4. "Peña de Bernal - Bernal - Queretaro" (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 27 October 2006. Retrieved 25 November 2008.
  5. Raul Carrillo (2007). Northrop, Laura Cava; Dwight L. Curtis; Natalie Sherman (eds.). Let's Go Mexico: On a Budget. Macmillan. p. 370. ISBN 978-0-312-37452-5.
  6. Escobar Ledesma, Agustín (1999). Recetario del semidesierto de Querétaro: Acoyos, rejalgares y tantarrias. Conaculta. p. 75. ISBN 978-970-18-3910-2.
  7. "Glossary". Archived from the original on 2010-01-01.
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