The Church on a Volcanic Plug

Volcanic forces created a rock formation 279 feet above the rest of Aiguihle, France. In the Tenth Century, local Christians built a church there -- the Chapel of Saint-Michel d'Aiguilhe. Visitors can climb 268 steps carved into the rock and get a scenic view of the town below. You can find more pictures of this striking relic at the link.

Link | Photo: nordique


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It's a little misleading to say that volcanic forces pushed the rock into the air - when the plug was formed, the air around it was a volcano. The plug would have been a lava vent, which cooled into a chunk of basalt. As millennia ticked by, the softer rock of the volcano (sandstone, at a guess) eroded away and left the harder basalt standing alone.
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