List of rock formations

A rock formation is an isolated, scenic, or spectacular surface rock outcrop. Rock formations are usually the result of weathering and erosion sculpting the existing rock. The term 'rock formation' can also refer to specific sedimentary strata or other rock unit in stratigraphic and petrologic studies.

A rock structure can be created in any rock type or combination:

• Sedimentary rocks are created by a variety of processes but usually involving deposition, grain by grain, layer by layer, in water or, in the case of terrestrial sediments, on land through the action of wind or sometimes moving ice. Erosion later exposes them in their current form. An example is Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah.
• Metamorphic rocks are created by rocks that have been transformed into another kind of rock, usually by some combination of heat, pressure and chemical alteration. An example are the Seneca Rocks in West Virginia.
• Igneous rocks are created when molten rock cools and solidifies, with or without crystallization. They may be either plutonic bodies or volcanic extrusives. Again, erosive forces sculpt their current forms. An example is Half Dome in Yosemite National Park.

Geologists have created a number of terms to describe different rock structures in the landscape that can be formed by natural processes:

• Inselberg or monadnock is a residual relief feature. It can be an isolated hill, a knob, ridge or small mountain that rises abruptly, like an island, from a gently sloping or virtually level surrounding plain. Inselberg is a German word that means "island mountain". Uluru/Ayers Rock in Australia is a noted example.
• Peak
• Stack
• Mesa
• Butte
• Escarpment
• Gorge
• Sea cliff
• River cliff
• Stone run
• Crag
• Tor
• Promontory is a prominent mass of land which overlooks lower lying land or a body of water.

Here is a list of rock formations by continent.

Asia

Armenia

• Tegherivank, Armenia
• Geghard, Armenia

China

• Yun Meng Mountains, Beijing, China
• Guilin, China
• Amah Rock, Hong Kong
• Lion Rock, New Kowloon/New Territories, Hong Kong
• Wulingyuan Scenic and Historic Interest Area, Zhangjiajie, China

Jordan

• Petra, Amman, Jordan
• Wadi Rum Desert, Jordan

India

• Jabalpur Marble Rocks, Madhya Pradesh, India
• Face Rock, Deccan, Hyderabad, India
• Yana, India

Iran

• Kuh-E-Namak, Iran
• Elemite Rock, Fars, Iran
• Mahneshan, Zanjan, Iran

Israel

• Rosh Hanikra, Israel
• Timna Arch, Eilat, Israel
• Karnei Hattin, Israel
• Maarat Keshet, Israel

Japan

• Yoichi, Hokkaidō, Japan

Lebanon

• Cape Lithoprosopon, Lebanon
• Raouché, Beirut, Lebanon

Mongolia

• Taikhar Chuluu, Arkhangai Aimag, Mongolia
• Turtle Rock, Gorkhi-Terelj National Park, Töv Aimag/Nalaikh, Mongolia

Philippines

• Kapurpurawan Rock Formation, Burgos, Ilocos Norte
• Punta Matagar, Banton, Romblon
• Marabut Rock Formations, Marabut, Samar
• Biri Island Rock Formation, Biri, Northern Samar
• Nakabuang Arc, Sabtang, Batanes
• Alapad Rock, Batan, Batanes
• Apo Island Rock Formation, Dauin, Negros Oriental
• Boto ni Kurakog, Bagamanoc, Catanduanes
• Lugsangan Rock Formation, Dalaguete, Cebu

Thailand

• Grandfather and Grandmother stone, Ko Samui, Thailand
• James Bond Island, Phang Nga
• Lalu (ละลุ), rock formations caused by erosion at the eastern end of the Sankamphaeng Range in Sa Kaeo Province
• Phae Mueang Phi ("Ghost Canyon") near Phrae in the Phi Pan Nam Range
• Phu Phra Bat Buabok in Udon Thani Province

Turkey

• Paşabağı, Cappadocia, Turkey
• Goreme National Park, Turkey

Yemen

• Wadi Dhar, Yemen
• Bani Al Harit, Sana'a, Yemen

Other countries

• Gobustan National Park, Azerbaijan
• Kyaiktiyo Pagoda, Mon State, Burma
• Aphrodite's Rock, Paphos, Cyprus
• Tanah Lot, Bali, Indonesia
• Jeti-Ögüz, Jeti-Ögüz district, Kyrgyzstan
• Tanjong Bunga, Penang, Malaysia
• Long Ya Men, Singapore
• Seorak-san National Park, Sokcho, South Korea
• Yehliu, Taiwan
• Halong Bay, Vietnam

Africa

Algeria

• Tamanrasset
• Tassili Mountains

Angola

• Benguela Province
• Iona, Tombwa

Burkina Faso

• Doumes de Fabedougou
• Pic du Sindou

Cameroon

• Kola Gorge

Egypt

• Khaboba
• Thebes
• Esna shale
• Nubian sand stone

Eritrea

• Decemhare

Kenya

• Tsavo Rocks

Libya

• Akakus Mountains

Green Mountain

Madagascar

• Andringitra Massif
• Isalo National Park
• Tsingy d'Ankarana
• Tsingy de Bemaraha
• Tsingy de Namoroka
• Tsingy Rouge

Malawi

• Makuzi Beach, Chintheche yui

Mali

• Massif des Aguilles de Garmi

Mauritania

• Ben Amera

Morocco

• Siroua Mountains
• Tafraoute

Namibia

• Bogenfels
• Vingerklip, Damaraland
• Waterberg Plateau

Niger

• Geuzzam

Nigeria

• Olumo Rock, Abeokuta^[1]
• Riyom Rock, Jos
• Zuma Rock, Abuja

Seychelles

• Anse Source d'Argent, La Digue

South Africa

• Cedarberg Wilderness Area, Western Cape
• Kagga Kamma, Ceres, Western Cape
• Three Sisters (Northern Cape)

Sudan

• Burget Tuyur, Selima

Tunisia

• Chebika Rock
• Tamazrat

Zimbabwe

• Domboshava Rocks
• Maleme Dam, Matobos
• Motombo Rock Formations

North America

United States of America

Canada

• Devil's Chair, Lake Superior Provincial Park, Ontario
• Flowerpot Island, Georgian Bay, Ontario
• Grand Manan Island, New Brunswick
• Hopewell Rocks, New Brunswick
• Gabriola Island, British Columbia
• Brady's Beach, Bamfield, British Columbia
• Chimney Rock, Marble Canyon, British Columbia
• Heron Rocks, Hornby Island, British Columbia
• Siwash Rock, Stanley Park, Vancouver, British Columbia
• Percé Rock, Gaspé, Quebec
• Tete d'Indien, Perce, Gaspé, Quebec
• Balancing Rock, Long Island, Nova Scotia
• Peggys Cove, Nova Scotia
• Banff National Park, Alberta
• Big Rock, Okotoks, Alberta
• Drumheller, Alberta
• Walsh, Alberta, see Medicine Hat, Alberta
• Main Topsail Hill, near Gaff Topsails, Newfoundland and Labrador
• Arches, St. Anthony, Newfoundland and Labrador
• Elephant Rock, Prince Edward Island
• Giant's Chair, Howard's Cove, Prince Edward Island
• Victoria Rock, Yukon
• Sleeping Giant, Ontario

Caribbean

• Ayo Rock Formations, Aruba
• Casibari Boulders, Aruba
• Guajataca, Puerto Rico
• Devil's Trail, Virgin Gorda, British Virgin Islands
• The Baths, Virgin Gorda, British Virgin Islands
• Coki Beach, St. Thomas, United States Virgin Islands
• Governor's Harbor, Eleuthera, Bahamas
• Ile a Vache, Cayes, Haiti
• Tent Bay, Barbados
• Pointe des Châteaux, Grande Terre, Guadeloupe
• Malendure Rock, Basse Terre, Guadeloupe
• Diamond Rock, Torrens Point, Saba, Netherlands Antilles
• Diamond Rock (Rocher du Diamant), Martinique
• Stonehaven Bay, Tobago
• Sandy Beach, Saint Lucia
• Las Cuevas Bay Trinidad

Mexico

• Piedras Encimadas Valley, Zacatlán, Puebla, Mexico
• Peña de Bernal, Bernal Mexico
• Copper Canyon, Chihuahua, Mexico
• Los Arcos Rocks, Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur, Mexico
• Hierve el Agua, San Lorenzo Albarradas, Mexico

Central America

• Bosque del Cabo, Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica
• Los Ladrillos, Boquete, Panama^[2]

South America

Argentina

• Quebrada de Humahuaca, Humahuaca
• Ongamira Valley, Córdoba, Argentina
• Ischigualasto, San Juan Province, Argentina
• Monte Fitz Roy, El Chalten, Argentina CA

Bolivia

• Dali's Desert, Potosi
• Valle de Las Rocas, Uyuni
• Canon de Duene

Brazil

• Pão de Açúcar (Sugarloaf Mountain), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
• Ponta Grossa, Brazil
• Pedro do Jacare, São Paulo, Brazil
• Dedo de Deus (God's Finger Rock), Serra dos Órgãos, Brazil
• Pedra do Cão Sentado, Nova Friburgo, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
• Pedra da Galinha Choca, Quixadá, Ceará, Brazil

Chile

• Valle de la Luna, Antofagasta, Chile
• Playa de la Calabocillos, Constitucion, Chile
• Silla del Diablo, Chile

Colombia

• El Peñón de Guatapé (La Piedra de Peñol), Antioquia, Colombia
• Laguna de La Plaza, Sierra Nevada del Cocuy, Colombia

Ecuador

• Cerro de Arcos, Loja, Ecuador
• Pinnacle Rock, Bartolome Island, Galápagos Islands

Falkland Islands

• Princes Street Stone Run

Paraguay

• Amambay

Peru

• Colca Canyon, Arequipa

Uruguay

• La Piedra Pintada, Parque Congreso de Abril

Venezuela

• Tepui, Roraima, Canaima National Park
• Piedras de San Martin, La Vela de Coro, Estado Falcón

Europe

Bosnia and Herzegovina

• Hajdučka vrata, Čvrsnica mountain

Bulgaria

• Basarbovo Monastery, Rousse
• Belogradchik Rocks
• Iskar Gorge, Sofia
• Melnik, Sandanski
• Sozopol
• Wonderful Bridges
• Golden Bridges (‘Zlatnite Mostove’), Vitosha
• Golyamata Gramada (‘Big Pile’), Vitosha
• Pobiti Kamani

Croatia

• Paklenica
• Bijele stijene (White Rocks) and Samarske stijene (Samar Rocks), Velika Kapela mountain

Czech Republic

• Teplice nad Metují
• Medvědí Stezka (Bear's path), Šumava mountains, Klatovy
• Vraní skála, Brdy
• Suché skály, Turnov
• Hruboskalsko

Denmark

• Bornholm
• Fur Formation
• Møns Klint, Møn
• Gedser Odde, Gedser
• Stevns Klint, Eastern Zealand
• Sangstrup, Djursland

Estonia

• Vormsi island

Finland

• Närpes
• Naantali

France

• Roussillon, Vaucluse
• Lesconil, Brittany
• Les Calanche, Corsica
• Rocher des Doms, Avignon
• Étretat, Normandy
• Cassis, near Marseille, Provence

Germany

• List of rock formations in the Harz
• Externsteine
• Falkenfelsen
• Rotenfels, Nahe, Bad Münster am Stein-Ebernburg, Rhineland-Palatinate
• Teufelsturm, Elbe Sandstone Mountains
• Wasgau

Greece

• Meteora
• Monemvasia
• Samaria Gorge, Crete
• Sarti, Sithonia

Gibraltar

• Rock of Gibraltar

Bailiwick of Guernsey

• Les Autelets, Sark, Channel Islands
• Telegraph Bay, Alderney, Channel Islands

Iceland

• Vestmannaeyjar
• Jokulsa Canyon National Park, Mývatn
• Dimmuborgir, Mývatn
• Dyrhólaey
• Eystrahorn, Hvalnes

Ireland

• Beara Peninsula, Bantry, County Cork
• Blarney Stone
• Skellig Rocks, Iveragh Peninsula, County Kerry
• Gap of Dunloe, Killarney, County Kerry
• Tory Island, County Donegal
• Achill Island, County Mayo
• Answering Stone, County Waterford

Italy

• Il Gargano, Vieste, Apulia
• Palmarola, Sicily
• Pietra di Bismantova, Reggiano Apennines
• Valle Seriana, Bergamo, Lombardy
• Golfo di Orosei, Cala Luna, Monte Tiscali, Sardinia
• Tarpeian Rock

Latvia

• Vidzeme
• Pusena Kalns, Bartava

Macedonia

• Stone town of Kuklica
• Markovi Kuli

Malta

• Dwerja, Gozo
• Dingli Cliffs, Dingli

Isle of Man

• Glen Maye, Isle of Man

Norway

• Skude, Beiningen, Haugaland
• Geirangerfjord
• Preikestolen
• Kjerag
• Troll Wall
• Nigardsbreen, part of the larger glacier Jostedalsbreen
• Sommarøy, Tromsø
• Jutulhogget (Rondane)

Poland

• Cudgel of Hercules – monadrock in Ojców National Park
• Mnich
• Sloneczna
• Dolina Koscieliska, Western Tatras
• Dunajec Gorge, Zakopane

Portugal

• Ponta da Piedade, Lagos, Algarve
• Albufeira
• Porto Moniz, Madeira
• Ponta de Sao Lourenco, Madeira

Romania

• Apuseni Mountains: Detunatele
• Bucegi Mountains: Babele, The Sphinx
• Ciucaș Mountains: Porumbelul Bratocei, Colții Bratocei, Turnul Goliat, Babele la sfat, etc.
• Făgăraş Mountains: Fereastra zmeilor
• Hășmaș Mountains: Piatra singuratică
• Piatra Craiului Mountains: La zaplaz, Cerdacul Stanciului, Turnul/Degetul lui Anghelide
• Gorges: Bicaz Gorge, Turda Gorge, Danube's Iron Gate (includes Babacai Rock^[3]), Cheile Dobrogei, Cheile Sohodolului, Cheile Doftanei (aka Brebului)
• Piatra Secuiului in Alba County
• Piatra Verde (or Muntele Verde) and the Salt Mountain in Slănic
• Râpa Roșie

Russia

• Tuapse, Krasnodar Krai, Russia
• Monrepo Park, Vyborg, St. Petersburg
• Taganay National Park, Chelyabinsk
• Stolby National Park, Krasnoyarsk Krai^[4]
• Kamen Shahtai, Lake Baikal
• Sail Rock, Krasnodar Krai

Serbia

• Đavolja Varoš (Devil's Town)^[5]
• Prskalo waterfall, Kučaj mountains^[6]
• Vratna Gates three natural stone bridges
• Đavoljev kamen near Trgovište

Spain

• Los Roques de Garcia, Tenerife Island, Canary Islands
• Las Canades, Tenerife Island, Canary Islands
• Ciudad Encantada, Castile-La Mancha
• Picuezo and Picueza, Autol, La Rioja
• Fuente de los Azulejos, Gran Canaria Island, Canary Islands
• El Torcal de Antequera and Peña de los Enamorados, Antequera, Andalusia, a World Heritages Sites
• Roque Nublo, Gran Canaria Island, Canary Islands
• Montserrat, Catalonia
• Roques de Benet, Ports de Beseit, Catalonia
• Los Callejones de Las Majadas, Serranía de Cuenca, Castile-La Mancha
• El Guerrero Romano, Sierra Carrascosa, Aragon
• Mallos de Riglos, Las Peñas de Riglos, Aragon
• Peña Bajenza in La Rioja
• Las Médulas, Province of León, site of Roman gold mines
• La Peña, Arcos de la Frontera, Andalusia

Sweden

• The islands Gotland, Fårö and Öland has many coastal stretches with stack formations.
• Busten, Glaskogens Nature Reserve, Kalleboda
• Stegborgsgarden, Stegborg
• Stenhamra, Uppland

Switzerland

• Mount Pilatus
• Val dal Botsch

Slovakia

• Lehotské skaly, near Handlová
• Haligovské skaly, near Stará Ľubovňa
• Súľovské skaly (part of the Súľovské vrchy Mountains)
• Zelené Pleso Valley (in the High Tatras)
• Devin Castle, Devin

Ukraine

• Hoverla, Carpathian Mountains
• Nikita, Ukraine, Yalta
• Skaly Taraktasky, Crimea
• Karadag, Crimea
• Fiolent, Sevastopol

United Kingdom

Oceania

Australia

• The Three Sisters, Katoomba – Blue Mountains, New South Wales
• Devils Marbles, Northern Territory
• Kata Tjuta, also known as The Olgas, Northern Territory
• Rainbow Valley, Northern Territory
• Uluru, also known as Ayers Rock, Northern Territory
• Murphys Haystacks, Nullarbor Desert, South Australia
• Remarkable Rocks, South Australia
• Twelve Apostles, Great Ocean Road, Victoria
• Mount Augustus, Western Australia
• Pinnacles Desert, Nambung National Park, Western Australia
• Wave Rock, Hyden, Western Australia

New Zealand

• Castle Hill Basin, Canterbury
• Koutu Boulders, Hokianga
• Māori Bay giant pillow lava, Muriwai
• Lion Rock, Piha
• Moeraki Boulders, Otago
• The Nuggets, Nugget Point, Otago
• Pancake Rocks, Punakaiki
• Putangirua Pinnacles, Wairarapa
• Stony Batter, Waiheke Island
• Truman Track Beach, Punakaiki
• Horeke basalts, Hokianga
• Gog and Magog, southern Stewart Island/Rakiura

Other countries

• Fatu Hiva, Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia
• Talava Arches, Niue, South Pacific

See also

• Formation of rocks
• List of rock formations that resemble human beings
• List of rocks on Mars
• Rock cycle

References

External links

Look up formation in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rock formations.

• Rock Formations
• 10 Fascinating Rock Formations
• Arches From All Over The World