101 Incredible Rock Formations Around the World

Mother Nature truly amazes me sometimes. The other day I stumbled across a picture of a mountain, one side of this mountain had a rock-face that had been delicately sculpted by the wind and rain over millions of years to form what could be described as the perfect art form.

My curiosity was sparked so off I went in search of more of these natural rock masterpieces. Low and behold after hours of searching I discovered a plethora of these majestic forms.

I decided to put this post together to share my discoveries and piece together what is hopefully the most comprehensive list of incredible rock formations out there.

As with anything of this scale there is no such thing as a complete list. I purposely stopped at 101 simply because the images would take too long to load if I added any more (plus it sounded like a cool number)……. I still have a lot more on my list though.

Enjoy!!

Danxia Landfrom

1. Danxia Landform

China

These formations of different colored sandstone were shaped after thousands of years of rain and wind, and the region has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2010.

Uluru

2. Uluru/Ayers Rock

Northern Territory, Australia

Uluru, also known as Ayers Rock is a large sandstone rock formation in the southern part of the Northern Territory in central Australia. It is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Preikestolen

3. Preikestolen

Norway

Preikestolen is a massive cliff in Forsand, Ryfylke, Norway. Each year it is visited by between 150,000 and 200,000 people, making it one of the most visited natural tourist attractions in Norway.

Cappadocia Mount Aktepen

4. Cappadocia

Turkey

Cappadocia lies in eastern Anatolia, in the center of Turkey. The relief consists of a high plateau pierced by volcanic peaks.

Antelope Canyon

5. Antelope Canyon

Arizona, United States

Antelope Canyon is the most visited and photographed slot canyon in the American Southwest. It is located on Navajo land near Page, Arizona.

Torres del Paine

6. Torres del Paine

Chile

The Torres Paine (Spanish for “Towers of Paine”) is a National Park in Patagonian Chile famously known for three immense rock towers give the park its name.

Giant’s Causeway

7. Giant’s Causeway

Northern Ireland

The Giant’s Causeway is an area of about 40,000 interlocking basalt columns, the result of an ancient volcanic eruption. It is located on the northeast coast of Northern Ireland, about three miles (4.8 km) northeast of the town of Bushmills.

Moeraki Boulders

8. Moeraki Boulders

New Zealand

The Moeraki Boulders are unusually large and spherical boulders lying along a stretch of Koekohe Beach between Moeraki and Hampden in New Zealand.

Kyaiktiyo Pagoda

9. Kyaiktiyo Pagoda

Myanmar

Kyaiktiyo Pagoda, also known as Golden Rock, is a well-known Buddhist pilgrimage site in Mon State, Myanmar. According to legend, the Golden Rock itself is precariously perched on a strand of the Buddha’s hair.

Half Dome

10. Half Dome

California, United States

Half Dome is a granite dome in Yosemite National Park, located in northeastern Mariposa County, California. It is possibly Yosemite’s most familiar rock formation.

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  1. Michael Glass
    http://www.backpackertravel.org
    Michael is the founder of Backpacker Travel. He also runs walking tours in San Francisco and is a freelance travel writer. Michael is extremely passionate about travel and loves to explore festivals around the world.

21 thoughts on “101 Incredible Rock Formations Around the World”

  1. moose
    April 28, 2018
    Reply

    you know mother nature did not create god did so get it right

  2. Bree
    November 6, 2017
    Reply

    Where is mount kea everEst or mount agustus

  3. ELOISE MARTIN
    March 7, 2017
    Reply

    Iv’e been there

  4. boby minner
    September 26, 2016
    Reply

    nice

  5. Michael Glass
    July 18, 2016
    Reply

    Just ticked another one off my list this weekend. Morro Rock happened to be on the way for us while driving from San Francisco to Los Angeles.

  6. Greg
    July 18, 2016
    Reply

    Awesome some really cool pictures I have always wanted to stand on the troll’s tongue in Norway

  7. Gagan
    February 9, 2016
    Reply

    Really incredible rocks. But please also include amazing rock formations from India.

    • Michael Glass
      July 18, 2016
      Reply

      Hey Gagan thanks for the info. It always seems to happen that we find out about many more amazing places from our readers.

      • Ashutosh
        December 28, 2017

        Yanamalai mountain, IT is in a shape of elephant ppplease include that , Madurai Tamil Nadu.india 3 km long rock

  8. Travelsito
    January 6, 2016
    Reply

    Awesome rocks! Great list!

  9. Ted Anderson
    October 13, 2015
    Reply

    I thought I might see Bon Echo Rock here, on Lake Mazinaw in north Central Ontario Canada

  10. Maximuz
    November 29, 2014
    Reply

    1/101 :(… only Huayna Picchu

  11. Marc
    November 28, 2014
    Reply

    Na, cant beat you. Have only been to 10 of them. But I have a suggestion to add another formation to the list. How about Taka Mountains in Sudan? I have been there, it’s an amazing structure….

    • Michael Glass
      July 18, 2016
      Reply

      10 is good Marc. Thanks for the suggestion too. We could write another entire post on the ones we missed but hey…. maybe we will do that 😉

  12. Ben
    November 27, 2014
    Reply

    Pancakes Rock – New Zealand pancakes http://bit.ly/1jr2mxS

  13. Alexis
    October 17, 2014
    Reply

    Very cool article with amazing pictures! (Just a head’s up tho, there is a mistake in the description of #88)

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