Inselberg

Pietra di Bismantova in the Apennines, Italy

An inselberg or monadnock (/məˈnædnɒk/ mə-NAD-nok) is an isolated rock hill, knob, ridge, or small mountain that rises abruptly from a gently sloping or virtually level surrounding plain. In Southern Africa, a similar formation of granite[citation needed] is known as a koppie, an Afrikaans word ("little head") from the Dutch diminutive word kopje.[1] If the inselberg is dome-shaped and formed from granite or gneiss, it can also be called a bornhardt, though not all bornhardts are inselbergs. An inselberg results when a body of rock resistant to erosion, such as granite, occurring within a body of softer rocks, is exposed by differential erosion and lowering of the surrounding landscape.[2]

  1. ^ Webster's New Explorer Dictionary of Word Origins (2004). Federal Street Press: New York.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Zeit1960 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).