When talking about beautiful geological
landforms stacks definitely hold an important place. Stacks are formed due to a
variety of natural phenomena like wind, water and time; hydraulic actions
during erosion play a vital role in the formation of sea stacks. They have
steep and vertical columns of rock in the sea. These can be found very close to
the coast of the sea. Stacks are a popular destination of rock climbing.
Ball’s
Pyramid, Lord Howe Island, Australia
 |
| Ball's Pyramid, erosional remains of shield volcano and a caldera. |
Ball’s Pyramid is in reality the erosional
remains of a shield volcano and a caldera; caldera is created when a land collapses due to volcanic eruption. It got its name as it was discovered
by Lieutenant Henry Lidgbird Ball in the year 1788; it was he who discovered
the Lord Howe Island around the same period. Ball’s Pyramid is 1,844 feet high
and therefore the world’s tallest volcanic stack.
Old
Man of Hoy, Orkney Islands, Scotland
 |
| Old Man of Hoy, A prominent landmark when ferrying from Thurso to Stromness |
Old Man of Hoy is a 449 feet high red
sandstone sea stack in the Orkney Islands of Scotland. This is a prominent
landmark when ferrying from Thurso to Stromness. There were no indications of a
sea stack in the maps drawn between 1600 and 1750; this leads to the belief
that this was discovered 400 years back. This sea stack is in the verge of
collapsing.
Old
Man of Stoer, Sutherland, Scotland
 |
| Old Man of Stoer, a famous climbing route in Scotland |
Old Man of Stoer is a 197 feet high sea stack
close to the villages of Culkein and Stoer. Old Man of Stoer is famous for its
climbing route; however, it is believed that it is very tough to climb when the
weather is windy.
Lange
Anna, Heligoland, Germany
 |
| Lange Anna, famous tourist attraction and a natural monument of Germany |
Lange Anna is also called as Long Anna or
Tall Anna; it is 154 feet high sea stack in the North Sea island of Heligoland
in Germany. It is a point of tourist attraction in Germany; however, tourists
are not allowed to climb the rock. Lange Anna in many ways resemble Old Man of
Hoy sea stack of Scotland. Lange Anna was declared natural monument of Germany
in the year 1969.
The
Twelve Apostles, Victoria, Australia
 |
| The Twelve Apostles, a popular limestone sea stack tourist attraction |
These are a group of Miocene limestone
rocks with a height of 147 feet; these are one of the most popular tourist
attractions in Australia. These were called as the Sow and Piglets until 1922;
it was changed to The Twelve Apostles for tourism purposes even though there
are only nine sea stacks. These rocks are in the verge of collapsing and
already one stack collapsed on July 2005. Helicopter tours are arranged for
tourists and are believed that nearly two million people visit this site.
Sugar
Loaf, Mackinac Island, Michigan
 |
| Sugar Loaf, a place for ritual burials in the earlier periods and now a famous tourist attraction |
Doesn’t the name sound yummy? Sugar Loaf is
a sea stack in the Mackinac Islands and is 75 feet high and is believed to be the
largest post-glacial erosion in the Straits of Mackinac. This consists of
resistant limestone rock consisting of various broken mineral fragments. Why is
it called Sugar Loaf? People who live near the frontier Great Lake loves maple
sugar, which is packed in cone-shaped baskets; as the rock resembles this shape,
the rock got its name as Sugar Loaf. In earlier periods, this area was used for
ritual burials.
Ko Tapu,
Phang Nga Bay, Thailand
 |
| Ko Tapu, became a popular tourist spot after featuring in a James Bond movie |
One can witness the Ko Tapu sea stack in
the Khao Phing Kan or ko Khao Phing Kan Islands of Thailand. These islands are
popularly known as the James Bond islands after featuring in a James Bond
movie.
Ko Tapu is a 66 feet high limestone rock;
the diameter of this sea stack increases by 4 meters from 13 feet and by 8
meters from 26 feet. There is a local legend about Ko Tapu’s formation. It
explains that a fisherman once didn’t get any fishes even after numerous
attempts and got only one nail. It seems he kept throwing this nail and
catching it and finally cut the nail into two halves as he was very furious
that he was not able to catch a single fish. One half of this cut nail rooted
itself and became the Ko Tapu sea stack. There is also a scientific theory
explaining the formation of Ko Tapu which is the constant erosion.
Hopewell
Rocks, New Brunswick, Canada
 |
| Hopewell Rocks, on the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean |
Hopewell Rocks is known by various other
names like “The Flowerpot Rocks” or “The Rocks.” This is a sandstone rock. You can
find these sea stacks at the upper reaches of Bay of Fundy at Hopewell Cape. This
area experiences a heavy tidal range and therefore the base of these rock
formations get covered with water almost two times a day.
Old Harry
Rocks, Dorset, England
 |
A view of Old Harry from the north Studland Bay
Image source |
These are a set of two chalk sea stacks;
chalk is a soft, porous and white sedimentary rock containing mineral calcite. One
can get a spectacular view of these rocks from the Dorset division of South
West Coastal Path. It is believed that earlier this was an arch formed due to
erosion and in the long run, the arch collapsed to form two rocks. A research
team headed by Dr. C.P. Buckle is trying to protect this rock as it is in the brink
of collapsing.
The Needles,
Isle of Wright, England
 |
The Needles, featured as a natural wonder of Southern England in a TV programme.
Image source |
The Needles too are chalk sea stacks
similar to the Old Harry Rocks; the only exception is that this is a set of
three sea stacks unlike the Old Harry Rocks which is a set of two sea stacks. At
the end of this sea stack is the lighthouse built in the year 1859. This was
featured as a natural wonder of Southern England in a TV programme. There is
small amusement park at the Needles Pleasure Park located at the top of the
cliff. This is one of the most famous tourist attractions in the Isle of Wright
region.
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