Pinnacle (geology)

A pinnacle, tower, spire, needle or natural tower (German: Felsnadel, Felsturm or Felszinne) in geology is an individual column of rock, isolated from other rocks or groups of rocks, in the shape of a vertical shaft or spire.

Examples are the summits of the Aiguille du Midi in the Mont Blanc massif in France, the almost 43-metre-high Barbarine on the south side of the Pfaffenstein hill near Königstein in Germany, or the Bischofsmütze, the Drei Zinnen and the Vajolet Towers in the Dolomites, which are rich in such towers.