Sail Rock – A monolith on the shore of the Black Sea

Sail Rock is a natural sandstone monolith located on the shore of the Black Sea in Russia. It resembles the outline of a ship’s sail, hence its name. The monolith has a sheer vertical slope confronting the shore of the sea, isolated from the mass of basic rock by geological forces. It is more than three-fourths revealed by the tide and lies perpendicular to the coast. What is most remarkable about this landmark is its proportions. While the cliff is only a little more than one meter thick, its height is about 25 m and its length about 20.
An opening of unclear origin is located in the sail, approximately 2.5 meters above the ground. Many guides state that the formation was a defense against mountain artillery during the Caucasian War. However, this version of the origin of the opening is under some doubt. In 1903, S. Vasyukov, who was investigating the Black Sea coast, wrote after the inspection of the cliff that it was “[..] shot from a battleship by seamen, they released 4 projectiles, but the wall remained firm, although the traces are noticeable, but they nowhere opened the rock […]”.
info:  wikipedia

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