The Mont Aiguille, tectonic ans erosion

Mont Aiguille is really an isolated piece of the Vercors massif situated within the Trièves mountains! This can be largely explained by the tectonic history. The Vercors is the result of compression of the earth’s crust due to closure of an ocean basin during Alpine mountain building over almost 40 million years. As a result, the rocks were folded and fractured, leading to anticlines, synclines and faults. While anticlines are more easily attacked by erosion, synclines remain resistant for longer.