Home >> Science & Nature >> Rocks & Minerals

List of Rock Formations

Rock is one of the most predominant substances that compose the surface of our planet. It comprises aggregated minerals bound together in a solid, usually durable mass. The shape of a rock formation is largely determined by erosion and weathering, which carve it out of a larger rock mass. Geologists have divided up the continuum of possible rock formations into a long series of empirically defined types.

Inselberg
- Inselberg is a German compound meaning "island mountain." It is so named because of the way it rises abruptly, with sheer sides, from the surrounding landscape. A famous example is Ayers Rock in Australia.
Peak
- The Rocky Mountains in the U.S. also feature a number of peaks.
  
  A peak is a vertical jut, often craggy, at the top of a mountain. At its most extreme, it is known as a glacial horn. Peaks are formed by frost weathering and by the cutting action of glaciers. The Matterhorn in the Swiss Alps is a classic peak.
Stack
- Stacks are vertical columns of rock that rise up from the sea near a coast. They are isolated from one another by erosion, as crashing waves weaken, enter and wear away at fissures in the landscape.
Mesa
- Mesas are typically found in very dry climate zones, where weathering has a greater affect.
  
  The name for this landform comes from the Spanish word for table. It is distinguished by its flat top and the sheer cliffs that form its sides. Mesas are composed of durable rock that has remained after the softer surrounding rock eroded away.
Butte
- Merrick's Butte in Monument Valley, Utah, cuts a striking profile.
  
  A butte also has steep sides and a flat top. However, it is smaller and more narrow than a mesa. Many of the classic buttes are found in the western United States.
Gorge
- The walls of a gorge often reveal layers of rock deposited over millions of years.
  
  A gorge, or canyon, is a deep ravine between cliffs. Gorges begin their lifespans as plateaus, and they are carved out over years by rivers. They are most often formed from limestone rock. Famous gorges include the Grand Canyon in Arizona and the Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon in Tibet.
Stone run
- A stone run is less a continuous landform than it is a field of individual stones. It results from the erosion and preservation of certain rock varieties during the repeated freeze-thaw cycles of the last ice age. Some of the best-known stone runs, marked by the abundance and diversity of their stones, are those of the Falkland Islands and the stone rivers of Vitosha Mountain, Bulgaria.

Rocks & Minerals