Peña de Bernal

Peña de Bernal
Highest point
Elevation 2,510 m (8,230 ft)AMSL
Prominence 350 m (1,150 ft)
Naming
Translation Bernal Peak (Spanish)
Geography
Location San Sebastián Bernal, Querétaro, México
Parent range Sierra Gorda
Geology
Age of rock 65 million years
Mountain type Porphyrytic monolith

Peña de Bernal (in English: Bernal's Boulder or Bernal Peak) is a 433 m (1,421 ft) tall monolith, one of the tallest in the world.[1] Peña de Bernal is located in San Sebastián Bernal, a small town in the Mexican state of Querétaro.[2]

The porphyrytic monolith was thought to have been formed 65 million years ago, during the Jurassic period.[2] A recent chemical analysis by researchers at the National Autonomous University of Mexico has determined that it is considerably younger, likely formed about 8.7 million years ago.[3]

Many people perform a pilgrimage to the small chapel located at the highest point accessible through hiking.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Peña de Bernal.

References

  1. "Geologic setting of the Peña de Bernal Natural Monument, Querétaro, México: An endogenous volcanic dome". Geosphere. Archived from the original on 2015-03-13.
  2. 1 2 "Bernal". México Desconocido. Archived from the original on 2015-03-13.
  3. "Mexican Monolith Is World's Tallest Freestanding Rock". Georgia Newsday. Archived from the original on 2015-03-13.

Coordinates: 20°44′53.5″N 99°56′55″W / 20.748194°N 99.94861°W / 20.748194; -99.94861


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Tuesday, October 13, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.