Uluru is the largest monolithic rock in the world. What is the tallest rock in the world? How high is it and where is it located? The most steep cliffs in the world

Uluru also known as Ayers Rock, - is not just the largest monolithic rock in the world, but at the same time the oldest among such monoliths. It is approximately 680 million years old. And it is located almost in the middle of Australia - in the state of the Northern Territory, near the city of Alice Springs.

This huge sandstone stone is simply incredible: almost 350 meters in height and as much as nine kilometers in girth.

And this is not the most amazing thing! Tourists are attracted here by the remarkable ability of Mount Uluru to change color depending on how the sun's rays fall on it.

In the morning, when dawn comes, the rock is painted in dark purple tones, but by noon its color becomes golden, then orange, acquiring more and more terracotta notes. By sunset, Ayers Rock darkens again, plunging into gray-brown tones. Sometimes the color of the rock turns out to be closer to blues and blues.

And although such a play of light is not uncommon for the mountains at all (just look at the paintings of Nicholas Roerich to be convinced of the whimsical coloring of the mountain landscapes), Uluru amazes with such changes because it stands alone among a huge desert plain, with which nothing like this happens. ...

Of course, scientists have often wondered where a huge monolith could have come from in the middle of such a flat landscape. Various versions were put forward, up to the celestial origin of the rock: a meteorite crashed into the desert, forever remaining there.

However, a more plausible theory claims that Ayers Rock is the surviving link of an ancient mountain range, named after the famous German cartographer Peterman. Over millions of years, the rock has been weathered, and only a monolithic rock was able to withstand so long, however, at the same time it underwent significant erosion, acquiring a rounded shape.

Naturally, the breed, carried around by the wind, did not go anywhere from the mainland. It turned into small stones and grains of sand, distributed evenly over the entire plateau, and in them the ridge seemed to "drown", leaving the very top, which now looks little different from the ancient volcanic rock outcrops. Sizes, perhaps. Geologists call such monoliths outliers.

The aborigines of the Anangu tribe, who have lived here since ancient times, consider the rock sacred. They also gave it the name Uluru. When linguists tried to find out what this word means in translation from the language of the local population, it turned out that apart from this rock itself, it does not mean anything else, but it still occurs in them as a human name.

But with the second name Ayers Rock, everything is much simpler. So in honor of the then Governor of South Australia Henry Ayers, the mountain was named by William Goss, a British explorer who was the first of the Europeans to climb the summit of Uluru and compose a detailed description of the rock. And this is how this miracle of nature was officially called until the 70s of the 20th century, when, after numerous appeals from local residents, the authorities returned the original name to the mountain.

Well, let's get closer to the rock. On its slopes you can see numerous furrows and almost round deep potholes. According to the ancient legend of the aborigines, the latter are nothing more than the footprints of the giant dog Kura-Punya. She left them, sneaking up to the camp of the hunters, who in a few minutes themselves were to become the prey of a predatory dog the size of a house.

However, the hunters were rescued by a suddenly screaming kookaburra. This is such an Australian bird, which is also called a laughing kingfisher, because its cry resembles human laughter. And, thanks to the voice of this bird, people managed to hide from the gigantic predator. Apparently, they have kookaburra, like we have forty: if something is wrong, he will immediately warn you.

But even the legend explains only the presence of dents on the slopes. And it still remains unclear who drew the entire rock so evenly with parallel furrows? The furrows are up to two meters deep, and this relief is considered unique. However, something similar exists much closer to us - in the Ukrainian steppe, in the Kamennye Mogily reserve, which was described in the previous post.

There is also something that Ayers Rock has in common with an amazing Russian landmark - Sin-Stone. This is the already mentioned ability of the mountain to change color along with the weather. This feature played an important role in the fact that both natural attractions have long been places of religious worship.

However, the reverence by the aborigines of Mount Uluru can be explained from a utilitarian point of view. If we take into account the aridity of the climate in Australia in general, and even more so in the desert area located far from the coast, it becomes clear why the mountain, which gave shade and moisture, began to be considered sacred.

Moreover, the rock contains not only caves where you can immerse yourself in the coolness, but also underground lakes, fed by rainwater and springs penetrating through the cracks. And everyone knows what value the water has in the desert.

Today, Ayers Rock is an official Aboriginal property leased to the authorities, for which local tribes receive 20 percent of the cost of entrance tickets to the national park, plus 75 thousand dollars annually. At the same time, although the aborigines put up with what is happening, they still consider the ascent of tourists to the top as sacrilege.

It was by the punishment of higher powers that they explained that in the past, curious travelers periodically fell apart during the ascent and even crashed to death. However, today, in the most dangerous places, metal railings are installed, and the number of falls from the cliff has been reduced to almost zero.

True, at the same time, almost every year, one of the tourists who have hoped to conquer the peak dies of a heart attack. And this can be explained mystically. But it is probably wiser to say that a two-hour climb under the scorching sun is better not to be done without minimal physical training, and even more so without wearing a normally sun-protecting hat and if there are any heart problems.

And so, if you are not superstitious, you can safely rush to the top, from where an unforgettable view of the endless desert opens up.

We have already examined the highest blank wall near skyscrapers, here it is, and now let's move on to natural objects.

Mount Thor (formally known as Thor Peak) is a granite peak recognized as the highest vertical slope in the world. The slope is located in the Auyuittuq National Park on Baffin Island (Canada). The height of the peak is 1250 meters, and the slope of the wall is 105 degrees.

Take a look and learn more about it ...

The height of the peak reaches 1250 m, and the slope of the wall is 105 degrees. By comparison, for example, the Burj Khalifa is 828 meters high, the Eiffel Tower is 324 meters, the CN Tower is 553 meters, and the Empire State Building is 381 meters.

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Mount Tor, of course, is not the highest mountain in the world, but, despite its rather remote location, it is very popular among numerous climbers, thrill-seekers who come to this place to overcome the difficult climbing route, listen to the sound of a blizzard and merge with the pristine nature.

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Tor Peak is made of granite and is part of the Baffin mountain range, which, in turn, are part of the majestic mountain range of the Arctic Cordillera. Mount Thor is the most popular of the peaks in Canada.

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The first to conquer the summit of the slope were members of the Alpine Club of Canada. It happened in 1965 under the guidance of the famous climber Pat Baird. And in the summer of 2006, with the help of special mountaineering equipment, the first successful descents from the steep slope of Mount Tor were made.

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The most favorable months for climbing Tor Peak are July and August. Conquest is impossible without good preparation and a serious approach. A successful ascent requires experience, special equipment, and the importance of logistics and good weather should not be underestimated.

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The world's largest monolithic rocks.

Monolithic rocks described below represent the actual unity of the stone.

In nature, on Earth, there are more grandiose rocks, but it is the monoliths that are represented here.

Monolith comes from the Greek word "Monolithos", consisting of the word - mono "one" and lithos "stone". Below we will talk specifically about monoliths, rocks, mountains, consisting of a monolithic stone.

Most of the monoliths in this are rock, although not every rock is a monolith. For example, Mount Augusta in Western Australia is often called a monolith, but it is actually a monocline to be precise.

Below is a list of some of the largest and most interesting monoliths on the planet.

Peña de Bernal ("Bernal Peak") is the largest monolith in Mexico, located in San Sebastian Bernal, a small town in the state of Queretaro. The rock rises 350 meters (1,148 feet) above the city and was formed about 100 million years ago during the Jurassic period, when it was at least three times higher than it is today.

Rock of Gibraltar or Mount Tariq, Djebel al-Tarik

Gibraltar, as a country, is an overseas territory of the United Kingdom, on the southern coast of Spain at the entrance to the Mediterranean. The rock is 426 meters (1,396 ft) high and is composed mainly of limestone. A whole species lives on the rock, the only primates in Europe 250 Barbary macaques, of course, in the conditions of the reserve.

One of the most famous landmarks in Yosemite National Park, the El Capitan granite monolith rises almost 910 meters (3,000 feet) vertically from the park itself. The rock is a favorite spot for rock climbers.

In 1958, Warren J. Harding, Wayne Merry and George Whitmore were the first to climb El Capitan using ropes, hooks and dowels.

Torres del Paine is part of a national park in the extreme south of the Patagonia region of Chile. The central place in the park is occupied by three towers - the Paine Cliffs, these are impressive granite monoliths formed under the influence of glacial ice. The highest peak of the cliff is about 2,500 meters (8,200 feet).

Located in Mauritania, Ben Amera is hidden in the desert and awaits its discovery for mass tourism. According to some reports, it is the second largest monolith in the world after Uluru. Ben Amera is located 5 km from Tmeimichat, a small desert village on the train route between Nouadhibou and Zouerat.

The height of this monolith is 386 meters (1267 feet) above the surrounding area. The rock is the remnant of an ancient eroded volcano. The Rock is located in the Black Hills in County Crook, northeastern Wyoming and was declared a U.S. National Monument in 1906 by President Theodore Roosevelt. The mountain became world famous in 1977 when Steven Spielberg starred next to it.

Sigiriya rises 370 meters (1,214 feet) above the terrain. It is the foundation of an ancient fortress. It is one of the main tourist attractions in Sri Lanka. Sigiriya Rock is formed by a volcano that has been eroded over millions of years.

From around the 5th century BC, it was used as a mountain shelter-monastery, and then used as a fortress for King Kashyap.