Wednesday 7 December 2016

List of largest monoliths in the world

December 07, 2016

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1.Uluru

Uluru, a huge sandstone monolith in the Northern Territory's Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, is, aside from the Sydney Opera House, the landmark most associated with Australia. The rock was sighted in 1872 by explorer Ernest Giles and was first visited by a European the following year.Uluru/Ayers Rock rises 1,142 feet (348 metres) above the surrounding desert plain and reaches a height 2,831 feet (863 metres) above sea level.Both Uluru and the nearby Kata Tjuta formation have great cultural significance for the Aṉangu people, the traditional inhabitants of the area, who lead walking tours to inform visitors about the local flora and fauna, bush food and the Aboriginal dreamtime stories of the area.


Uluru
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Zuma Rock

Zumu Rock is one of the largest monoliths in Niger State, Nigeria. It is just north of Nigeria's capital Abuja, along the main road from Abuja to Kaduna, and is sometimes referred to as "Gateway to Abuja." It is depicted on the 100 naira bill (national currency). Zuma Rock is 725 m (2,400 ft) above its surroundings. Hence it is considered by many scientists as the second largest monolith in the world after Ayers Rock. In the forest, they found there were many Guinea-Fowls around the Zuma Rock, and started to hunt them and named the rock, “Zumwa”, meaning  “The place of catching Guinea-Fowls”.


Zuma Rock
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Sigiriya

Sigiriya or Sinhagiri is an ancient rock fortress located in the northern Matale District near the town of Dambulla in the Central Province, Sri Lanka. Sigiriya rock plateau, formed from magma of an extinct volcano, is 200 meters higher than the surrounding jungles.It was used as a rock-shelter mountain monastery from about the 5th century BC, with caves prepared and donated by devotees of the Buddhist Sangha.Its view astonishes the visitors with the unique harmony between the nature and human imagination.The environment around the Sigiriya may have been inhabited since prehistoric times. There is clear evidence that the many rock shelters and caves in the vicinity were occupied by Buddhist monks and ascetics from as early as the 3rd century BCE. The earliest evidence of human habitation at Sigiriya is the Aligala rock shelter to the east of Sigiriya rock, indicating that the area was occupied nearly five thousand years ago during the Mesolithic Period.


Sigiriya
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Sugarloaf Mountain

Sugarloaf Mountain is a peak situated in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, at the mouth of Guanabara Bay on a peninsula that juts out into the Atlantic Ocean.The 400 meter high mountain is part of the Carioca Mountain Range which provides tourists with a spectacular view of Rio and the Atlantic Ocean.At the summit there are some clearly marked wooded trails where you can view some wildlife and get away from the crowds. The crowds are densest mid-morning and mid-afternoon when the tourist buses arrive.Most people come to Sugarloaf for the view, but the forest canopy that envelops the trails is worth mentioning. With century old trees and ancient rock outcroppings, this trail reminds me of a few of the better hikes I’ve done in the rainforests of Australia. It really is a gorgeous area.


Sugarloaf Mountain
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Stone Mountain

Stone Mountain is a quartz monzonite dome monadnock and the site of Stone Mountain Park in Stone Mountain, Georgia. At its summit, the elevation is 1,686 feet MSL and 825 feet above the surrounding area. Stone Mountain is well-known not only for its geology, but also for the enormous rock relief on its north face, the largest bas-relief in the world.tone Mountain is home to Stone Mountain Park, Georgia's No. 1 tourist attraction. The park contains more than 3,200 acres of pristine woodlands and a variety of family-oriented attractions.


Stone Mountain
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 Rock of Gibraltar

The Rock of Gibraltar is a monolithic limestone promontory located in the British overseas territory of Gibraltar, near the southwestern tip of Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.Stand on top of the Rock of Gibraltar and you feel as if you were on top of the world. Europe is at your feet. Africa fills one horizon, while the gates to the Mediterranean and the Atlantic are on either side.Gibraltar was captured by the British Fleet in 1704 during the war of the Spanish Succession.


 Rock of Gibraltar
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