When I first came across this photo of an impossibly sharp and tall island rising alone in the ocean I instantly thought it was fake. It’s real. Its name is Ball’s Pyramid—”the tallest volcanic stack in the world”—and it’s located just south of Lord Howe Island, off the east coast of Australia.
Ball’s Pyramid is anerosional remnant of a shield volcano and calderathat formed about 7 million years ago. It lies 20 kilometres (12 mi) southeast of Lord Howe Island in the Pacific Ocean. It is 562 metres (1,844 ft) high, while measuring only 1,100 metres (3,600 ft) in length and 300 metres (980 ft) across, making it the tallest volcanic stack in the world. Ball’s Pyramid is part of theLord Howe Island Marine Park in Australia.
