30 Natural Rock Formations in The World That Amaze You
Mar 27, 2023
On the eve of the New Year-2021, World of Stones USA is presenting a unique gift to its readers, fans, and customers. Those are sightseeing places where nature lovers like to roam during the Holiday Season-2020-21. We present you with 30 natural rock formations in the world that may amaze you for a while.
Of course, we have infused some avid knowledge regarding natural stones, types, and formation patterns in concise ways. Let’s dive into the world of stones!
1 Rock Formation in Arizona, Utah
[The Wave, Coyote Buttes, northern Arizona, Utah, USA – By Francesco Conti.]
According to Wikipedia, “The Coyote Buttes area is an exposure of cross-bedded aeolian Jurassic Navajo Sandstone. The variable coloration of the sandstones is a result of various iron oxide pigments within the layers.” It creates a stunning scenario when you walk through the pits.
Coyote Buttes is a section of the Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness. It is managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). And it is spanning extreme south-central Utah and north-central Arizona. It is located at the south of US 89 halfway between Kanab, Utah and Page, Arizona.
2 Rock Formation in Wadi Musa, Jorden
[Narrow passage of rocks of Petra Canyon in Wadi Musa, Jordan By studio.]
Wikipedia described Petra as the historic and archaeological city around Jabal-Al-Madbah in a basin surrounded by mountains.
3 Rock Formation in Wadi Rum, Jorden
[Wadi Rum is a protected area covering 720 square kilometers of dramatic desert wilderness in the south of Jordan By Supapisit Charoenngam]
Wadi Rum is known as the valley of the moon. Sandstone and granite stones are chiefly found in the valley of Rum.
4 Rock Formation in Brittany, France
[Amazing Rock Formations on the Cote Granit Rose in Brittany, France By Karl Allen Lugmayer.]
Here, pink granite stones are found abundantly. It has unusual pink sand and rock formation. Thus, it becomes an attraction for tourists across the globe.
5 Rock Formation in Atacama Desert, Chile
[Geological monolith, The Indian Stone, near Salar de Tara, Los Flamencos National Reserve, Atacama Desert, Chile By Fred Cardoso.]
The area is made up of two salt lakes surrounded by mountains and dunes. Erosion by winds has created huge rock formations.
6 Rock Formation in Utah, USA
[Warm tone and soft light, soft edge, sunset at Delicate arch, Archesh National Park, Utah, the USA By Wisanu Boonrawd.]
Arches National Park, Utah consists of more than 2,000 arches. It is a unique geological resource and rock formation. Delicate Arch is one of the pieces of evidence.
7 Rock Formation in Reynisfjara, Iceland
[Rock formations at Reynisfjara Beach in Iceland. By Victor Maschek.]
The formation of black basalt stone evident on the seashore where black sand also adding flairs in the scene. These basal stacks are enormous and giving ready to use rocks without much mining.
8 Rock Formation in Koekohe Beach, New Zealand
[Spheric Moeraki Boulders on the Koekohe Beach, Eastern coast of New Zealand. Long time exposure – see is blurred By Filip Fuxa.]
Moeraki Boulders are large in size, spherical in the shape, and gray in color. These are Mudstone boulders and formed with the erosion of rocks by sea waves. They were found to consist of mud, clay, and fine silts clasts cemented by calcite.
9 Rock Formation in Wadi Joshua Tree, California
[Rock Formation in Joshua Tree National park – Jumbo Rocks By awphoto.]
Joshua tree national park is located in southeastern California, east of Los Angeles and San Bernardino, near Palm Springs. These are harder rocks made of gneiss and granite. Groundwater has eroded the edge, joints of monzonite, and cut the stones into symmetrical shapes.
10 Rock Formation in Wadi Musa, Jorden
[The basalt column of Fingal’s Cave, Staffa Island, Scotland By Jane Rix]
It is on an unhabituated island. It is made of Basal hexagonal rocks jointed in columns. The rock formation has taken place due to the cooling of solidified lava. The rock formation started into a blocky tetragonal pattern and resulted in hexagonal columns of Basalts. The fracture of rocks is taken place in a perpendicular orientation to cooling surfaces. The sea waves have eroded the cross-section today.
11 Rock Formation in Bunker Bay, Western Australia
It is a closeup of orange granite rock formations at Bunker Bay, Western Australia. It is a rich scenic spot with beautiful pure white sand, limestone cliff, and low granite headland. It is believed one billion-year-old orange granite rock formation in the stone cliff under the water.
12 Rock Formation in Wadi Matopos, Zimbabwe
[Beautiful rocky formations of Matopos National Park, Zimbabwe By Vladislav T. Jirousek.]
The rock formation has taken place before 2 billion years as granite being forced to the surface. Weathering has formed smooth whale-back shapes that look like a balancing rock. Granite is made up of Matopos Batholith.
13 Rock Formation in Wadi Carpathian Mountain, Romania
[Scenic view of the Romanian mountains with various rock formations By Dragosh Co.]
Indeed, great scenic view of the Carpathian mountain in Romania. It has taken the form of a fold and thrust belt covered with densely green forest. The entire mountain belt is rich with iron, gold, and silver! It is the reason Trajan brought 165 tons Gold 330 tons of silver by winning in the conquest of Dacia.
14 Rock Formation in Wadi Hvitserkur, Hunafjoraur
[Hvitserkur, giant rock with the shape of a dinosaur at Hunafjoraur, taken at the blue hour with a long exposure time By Menno Schaefer.]
Hvitserkur, a giant rock is a monolith dyke made from erosion by the sea. It is in the shape of a dinosaur drinking water! It is 15-meters-high but only 2 meters thick. So, local have fixed it with cement-concrete base in 1955.
15 Rock Formation in Giant’s Causeway
[The hexagonal rocks of the Giant’s Causeway By SAPhotog.]
The hexagonal rocks of the Giant’s Causeway are a story of volcanic rock formation before 50 to 60 million years. These are basalt columns in a hexagon shape. Once the lava settles on the earth’s surface, it gets cooling rapidly due to cool and moist air contact.
Cooling brings molecular changes in the mass of rock and shrinking brings cracks in it. Huge stress of cooling and shrinking results in a crack at an angle of 120 degrees that gives us the hexagonal columns of basalt rocks.
16 Rock Formation in Cornwall, England.
[The valley is near St Just has the Brison rocks not far offshore. By Andy Fox Photography.]
Porth Nanven Cove is a beach in the far west of Cornwall, England. It is a fine example of a glacial valley. Its rock formations are smooth and rounded. Therefore, it also refers to Dinosaur Eggs due to ovoid boulders.
17 Rock Formation in Borneo, Malaysia
[limestone pinnacles formation at Gunung Mulu national park Borneo Malaysia. By Juhku.]
The Gunung Mulu national park Borneo Malaysia has 295Km explored areas with caves, which are home to millions of bats & swiftlets. It is a mountainous area that consists of metamorphosed sedimentary rocks, chiefly limestone, sandstone, and shells.
The limestones are extremely white or gray in color and give a snowy appearance. Weathering has formed pinnacles in the mountain.
18 Rock Formation in Albany, Australia
[Ariel View of rock formations in Albany Western Australia By Bruce Retriever.]
It has a notorious coastline due to death waves. Torndirrup national park is known for its impressive rock formation of granite. Gneiss also present there. They are some 1300-1600 million years old.
19 Rock Formation in Quebrada de Humauaca, Argentina
[Colorful rock in Quebrada de Humauaca, Argentina by thoron.]
Quebrada de Humauaca, Argentina has spectacular rock formations. Different strata are obvious and in the regular bands of different types of rocks ranging from sandstone to limestone and shale. The spectrum of colors also reflects in the sand that is made from the rock erosions. The Mudrock layer seems sandwiched between the silt layers. It is an ideal example of different types of rock formation in the earth’s crust.
20 Rock Formation in Bugle Bungle, Australia
[Bungle Bungles rock formation in Purnululu National Park, Australia by iacomino FRiMAGES.]
According to UNESCO World Heritage, it is the superlative example of beehive-shaped karst sandstone rising 250 meters above the surrounding semi-arid savannah grasslands.
Unique depositional processes and weathering have given these towers their spectacular black and orange banded appearance, formed by biological processes of cyanobacteria (single-cell photosynthetic organisms) which serve to stabilize and protect the ancient sandstone formations.
These outstanding examples of cone karst that have eroded over a period of 20 million years are of great beauty and exceptional geological interest.
21 Rock Formation in Acacus Mountains, Libya
[Akakus (Acacus) Mountains, Sahara, Libya – Bizarre sandstone rock formations By Patrick Poendl]
It is a mountain range in the Sahara Desert famous for its pictogram art on the stones. The stone art depicts the life of human civilization at that time.
22 Rock Formation in Namib Desert, Namibia
[Spitzkoppe, Damaraland, Namib Desert, Namibia By CherylRamalho.]
The site depicts the dramatic granite rock formation. The rounded Granite rock mountains have interesting lines and shapes. Moreover, golden sunlight at dawn creating shadows and natural illumination in the scene. The age of rocks is believed to be 120 million years.
23 Rock Formation in Victoria, Australia
[Great Ocean Road national park in Victoria, Australia – By Taras Vyshnya.]
The Great Ocean Road traverses through cliffs compose of the strata of sandstone and limestone rock formation. At sunrise, we can see a panoramic view from a lookout towards two apostles.
24 Rock Formation in Cappadocia, Turkey
[Unique geological formations in Cappadocia, Turkey. By DenisProduction.com.]
It looks like a snowy mountain, but it is unique white sandstone rock formations found in the valley.
25 Rock Formation in Tsingy de Bemaraha, Madagascar
[Stunning rock formation in Tsingy de Bemaraha, Madagascar]
The scene is of the forest of needles. Interestingly, groundwater has cut rocks in vertical and horizontal directions. The erosion has created a dramatic steep superimpose of limestone. It has an awesome yet dangerous bio-ecosystem.
26 Rock Formation in Rainbow Rock, Oregon
[The layers of blue sedimentary chert, Rainbow Rock, Oregon By Weldon Schloneger]
The blue rainbow rocks are chert, which are hard sedimentary rocks made of sand and calcium compounds. They are the results of a collision between two plates of the earth’s crust. Thereby, it contains fossils of the sea bed.
27 Rock Formation in Göreme National Park, Turkey
[Aerial view of Göreme National Park, Tarihi Milli Parki, Turkey by Naeblys.]
You will find the typical rock formations of Cappadocia with fairy chimneys and desert landscapes. Göreme National Park is a valley cut by rivers and streams. It chiefly contains Basalt mountains and thick beds of tuff. The volcanic ash has formed the soft tuff rocks.
28 Rock Formation in New England, Bristol, ME, USA
[Pemaquid Point lighthouse tower in New England, Bristol, ME, the USA By Allan Wood Photography]
It sits on top of unique metamorphic rock formations along the mid-coast of Maine. It is one of the most popular attractions for tourists. Metamorphosed volcanic rocks are in striking patterns. The erosion has taken place by sea and wind on the coastal areas.
29 Rock Formation in Gobi Desert
[Red rocks in the barren sands of the Gobi Desert By Aleksander hunta]
Gobi Desert lies in between Mongolia and China. It has sanded and sandstones formed red sands. The wind has eroded rocks and formed unique shapes in amazing ways. It has made it a tourist and desert sports center in many parts.
30 Rock Formation in Svalbard, Isfjorden, Norway
