A menhir, standing stone, orthostat, or lith is a large upright stone, emplaced in the ground by humans, typically dating from the European middle Bronze Age. They can be found individually as monoliths, or as part of a group of similar stones. Menhirs' size can vary considerably, but they often taper toward the top.
Large menhir located between Millstreet and Ballinagree, County Cork, Ireland
Cwm Rhaeadr Fawr maen hir (menhir) near Aber Falls, Gwynedd, Wales
Dry Tree menhir – a standing stone at Goonhilly Downs Cornwall
The Géant du Manio, a menhir in Carnac, Brittany
A monolith is a geological feature consisting of a single massive stone or rock, such as some mountains. Erosion usually exposes the geological formations, which are often made of very hard and solid igneous or metamorphic rock. Some monoliths are volcanic plugs, solidified lava filling the vent of an extinct volcano.
Niapiskau island,limestone monoliths, Gulf of St. Lawrence, Mingan Archipelago National Park Reserve, Canada
Uluru, Northern Territory, Australia, is often referred to as the biggest monolith. While the surrounding rocks were eroded, the rock survived as sandstone strata making up the surviving Uluru 'monolith'.
Monolithos fortress on Rhodes, Greece
Landsat 7 image Brandberg Mountain, Namibia
