Russian Idols

[kbs2244]

Unexplained for north in Russia
Does anybody know anything about these?
Maybe, at least, LAT and LONG coordinates?
The web site calls them “idols” but they do not look man made to me.
But they do have an eerie Easter Island look to them.
But they are huge.
Is there any evidence of a quarry in the area?
Has anybody looked for any kind of foundation under them?
If they are natural, how did they get so tall and so high and so undisturbed above the surrounding ground level?
Volcanic “pipes” with the surrounding area eroded away?

www.englishrussia.com/?p=1911#more-1911

[Sam Salmon]

Look like ordinary stone formations that weathered away toward the bottom-some artful photography notwithstanding.

Is there a geologist in the house?

[Rokcet Scientist]

I'd say they originally were subterranean volcanic magma plumes that coagulated and then the surrounding, softer material eroded away over millions of years.

[dannan14]

i have to agree. It's not quite Devil's Tower, but it makes sense.

[Cognito]

You are correct - they are volcanic plugs. We have similar structures near where I live. One looks like a 30 meter tall chimney.

[kbs2244]

But there is no volcano in the area.
And that is a whole lot of erosion.
Of course The Devils Tower is in the Yellowstone crater.
And how long has it been dormant?

[Rokcet Scientist]

But there is no volcano in the area.

Maybe not now. But there was volcanic activity at some point! You're looking at its remnants. It looks as though that volcanic activity was not active/violent enough to produce bonafide volcano cones. What you're looking at are 'wannabe volcanoes' that never quite made it.

And that is a whole lot of erosion.

There was a whole lot of time to erode it in: billions of years.
Afaik the Grand Canyon was eroded in a 'mere' couple hundred million years.

Of course The Devils Tower is in the Yellowstone crater.
And how long has it been dormant?

Dunno.

[dannan14]

But there is no volcano in the area.
And that is a whole lot of erosion.
Of course The Devils Tower is in the Yellowstone crater.
And how long has it been dormant?

Devil's Tower is in the northeast corner of Wyoming. That is several hundred miles from Yellowstone.

[kbs2244]

Opps.
Well at least I got the state right, didn't I?
I like the "wanna be" volcano discription.

[dannan14]

Standing next to these types of formations (especially Devil's Tower) really stretches one's mind. It's hard enough to believe in abstract just how much erosion has taken place in these areas, but to stand at the base of Devil's Tower and look up more than 1000 feet knowing that the rest of the volcano went higher still is mind boggling.

On the other hand it gives some appreciation for how thick glaciers were.