A pillar is a

landform A landform is a natural or anthropogenic land feature on the solid surface of the Earth or other planetary body. Landforms together make up a given terrain, and their arrangement in the landscape is known as topography. Landforms include hills, ...

, either of rock or earth, defined by the

USGS The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, a ...

as: "Vertical, standing, often spire-shaped, natural rock formation (chimney, monument,

pinnacle A pinnacle is an architectural element originally forming the cap or crown of a buttress or small turret, but afterwards used on parapets at the corners of towers and in many other situations. The pinnacle looks like a small spire. It was mainly ...

, pohaku,

rock tower A pinnacle, tower, spire, needle or natural tower (german: Felsnadel, ''Felsturm'' or ''Felszinne'') in geology is an individual column of rock, isolated from other rocks or groups of rocks, in the shape of a vertical shaft or spire. Examples ar ...

)." Some examples of rock pillars are

Chambers Pillar Chambers Pillar (Aboriginal name ''Idracowra'' or ''Etikaura'') is a sandstone formation some south of Alice Springs in the Northern Territory of Australia. Formation Erosion by wind and rain has left an isolated pillar of 350-million-yea ...

, Katskhi pillar, Pompeys Pillar, and Pillar Rock. The Oxford Dictionary of Geography defines ''earth pillar'' as: "An upstanding, free column of soil that has been sheltered from erosion by a natural cap of stone on the top. They are common where boulder-rich moraines have been subject to gully erosion, as in parts of the southern

Tyrol Tyrol (; historically the Tyrole; de-AT, Tirol ; it, Tirolo) is a historical region in the Alps - in Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Emp ...

." A Hoodoo is another type of earth pillar. Examples of earth pillars are Awa Sand Pillars and

Đavolja Varoš Đavolja varoš ( sr-cyr, Ђавоља варош, lit. "Devil's Town") is a rock formation consisting of about 200 earth pyramids or "towers", located in southern Serbia on the Radan Mountain, in the municipality of Kuršumlija. Geology Đa ...

References

{{topography-stub Landforms Rock formations

See also

References