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.

آسيا

أرمنيا

• Tegherivank, Armenia
• Geghard, Armenia

الصين

• 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

الأردن

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

الهند

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

إيران

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

إسرائيل

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

اليابان

• Yoichi, Hokkaidō, Japan

لبنان

• Cape Lithoprosopon, Lebanon
• Raouché, Beirut, Lebanon

منغوليا

• 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

تايلند

• Grandfather and Grandmother stone, Ko Samui, تايلند
• 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

هجريا

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

اليمن

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

بلدان أخرى

• 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

أفريقيا

Algeria

• Tamanrasset
• Tassili Mountains

Angola

• Benguela Province
• Iona, Tombwa

بوركينا فاسو

• Doumes de Fabedougou
• Pic du Sindou

الكامرون

• Kola Gorge

مصر

• Khaboba
• Thebes
• Esna shale
• Nubian sand stone

إرتريا

• Decemhare

كنيا

• Tsavo Rocks

ليبيا

• Akakus Mountains

Green Mountain

مدغشقر

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

ملاوي

• Makuzi Beach, Chintheche yui

مالي

• Massif des Aguilles de Garmi

موريتانيا

• Ben Amera

المغرب

• Siroua Mountains
• Tafraoute

ناميبيا

• Bogenfels
• Vingerklip, Damaraland
• Waterberg Plateau

Niger

• Geuzzam

نيجريا

• Olumo Rock, Abeokuta
• Riyom Rock, Jos
• Zuma Rock, Abuja

سيشل

• Anse Source d'Argent, La Digue

جنوب أفريقيا

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

السودان

• برج الطيور Burget Tuyur، سليمة Selima

تونس

• Chebika Rock
• Tamazrat

زمبابوى

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

أمريكا الشمالية

الولايات المتحدة

كندا

• 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

الكاريبي

• 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

المكسيك

• 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

أمريكا الوسطى

• Bosque del Cabo, Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica
• Los Ladrillos, Boquete, Panama

أمريكا الجنوبية

الأرجنتين

• 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

البرازيل

• Pão de Açúcar (جبل قمع السكر)، ريودي جانيرو، البرازيل
• 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

تشيلي

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

كولومبيا

• 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

اوروپا

البوسنة والهرسك

• Hajdučka vrata, Čvrsnica mountain

بلغاريا

• 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

كرواتيا

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

جمهورية التشيك

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

الدنمارك

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

إستونيا

• جزيرة ڤورمسي

فنلندا

• Närpes
• Naantali

فرنسا

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

ألمانيا

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

اليونان

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

جبل طارق

• صخرة جبل طارق

بيليويك گرنسي

• Les Autelets, Sark, جزر القنال
• Telegraph Bay, Alderney, جزر القنال

أيسلندا

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

أيرلندا

• 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

إيطاليا

• 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

مقدونيا

• Stone town of Kuklica
• Markovi Kuli

مالطا

• Dwerja, Gozo
• Dingli Cliffs, Dingli

جزيرة مان

• Glen Maye, Isle of Man

النرويج

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

پولندا

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

البرتغال

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

رومانيا

• 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), 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

روسيا

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

صربيا

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

اسبانيا

• Los Roques de Garcia, Tenerife, Canary Islands
• Las Canades, Tenerife, Canary Islands
• Ciudad Encantada, Cuenca
• Picuezo and Picueza in Autol, La Rioja
• Fuente de los Azulejos, Gran Canaria, Canary Islands
• El Torcal, Antequera, Málaga, Andalusia
• Roque Nublo, Gran Canaria, Canary Islands
• Montserrat, Catalonia
• Roques de Benet, in the Ports de Beseit
• Los Callejones de Las Majadas in the Serranía de Cuenca
• El Guerrero Romano in the Sierra Carrascosa, Aragon
• Mallos de Riglos in Aragon
• Peña Bajenza in La Rioja
• Las Médulas, Province of León, site of Roman gold mines

السويد

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

سويسرا

• Mount Pilatus
• Val dal Botsch

سلوڤاكيا

• 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

أوكرانيا

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

المملكة المتحدة

أوقيانوسيا

أستراليا

• 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

نيوزيلندا

• 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

بلدان أخرى

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

انظر أيضاً

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

الهامش

وصلات خارجية

مشاع الفهم فيه ميديا متعلقة بموضوع Rock formations.

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