Gibraltar: The Largest Monolith in Europe

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 Tuesday, November 22, 2022 - 10:47

In my View by MARK VIALES

The Rock of Gibraltar may be seen as a small nation, yet it is one of the most impressive monoliths on earth, and the largest in Europe. A Jurassic limestone mountain overlaid with dark shale, it took form over millions of years as Europe separated from Africa in a cataclysmic tectonic shift.

Sharp points protrude from a virtually inaccessible knife-edged ridge on the top of the Rock that appears to point towards the heavens when viewed from below. Known to the Phoenicians as ‘Mons Calpe’ (Hollow Mountain), the 426-metre-tall natural geological masterpiece has sheltered and inspired humanity since well before the dawn of civilisation. Rainwater penetrating through soft Jurassic limestone rock for millions of years created over 200 sea and inland caverns, most notably Gorham’s and St Michael’s caves. The former famously received UNESCO World Heritage status in 2016 for providing unique archaeological discoveries crucial to the understanding of our closest ancient human relative, Neanderthals.

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