monolith n : a single great stone (often in the form of a column or obelisk)

English

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈma.nə.ˌlɪθ/
• Schoolbook Phonetics: (mäʹnu̇lĭthʺ)
• Last Resort Phonetics: MAH-nuh-lith

Etymology

From monolithe.

Noun

1. A large single block of stone, used in architecture and sculpture.
2. Anything massive, uniform and unmovable.

Related terms

• monolithic adjective

Translations

• French: monolithe

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

The three largest on Earth are:

1. Mount Augustus, in Western Australia - 860m
2. La Peña de Bernal, in Mexico
3. Stone Mountain, in Stone Mountain Park, Stone Mountain, a suburb of Atlanta, 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, 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

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

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
• Kokerbin Rock, Western Australia
• Uluru (Ayers Rock), Northern Territory, Australia

South America

• Towers of Paine, Chile

Antarctica

• Scullin monolith
• leargh Rock

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
• Rune stones
• 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

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

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