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Geological Formations

Paarl Rock

Inselbergs and Crystalline Monoliths

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Paarl Rock is a huge granite outcrop of intrusive igneous rock made up of three rounded domes, rising above the town of Paarl in South Africa's Western Cape. In 1657 the Dutch official Abraham Gabbema recorded seeing the rock glistening after a rainstorm and named it de Diamondt en de Peerlberg, Diamond and Pearl Mountain, the origin of the town's name Paarl. Its smooth, largely unfissured steep faces made the rock difficult to climb until modern bolting techniques were developed, and it has since become a popular rock-climbing destination. This entity documents Paarl Rock specifically as a geological formation, a granite dome complex that gave the town of Paarl its name. Its precise height and geological age are not stated in the source used for this pass and are recorded here as a gap.

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