# Tor (rock formation)

By [xWhiteOuroboros](https://paragraph.com/@xwhiteouroboros) · 2023-04-07

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A **tor**, which is also known by [geomorphologists](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geomorphologist) as either a **castle koppie** or **kopje**, is a large, free-standing [rock](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_\(geology\)) [outcrop](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outcrop) that rises abruptly from the surrounding smooth and gentle slopes of a rounded hill [summit](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summit) or [ridge](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ridge) crest. In the [South West of England](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_West_England), the term is commonly also used for the hills themselves – particularly the high points of [Dartmoor](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dartmoor) in [Devon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devon) and [Bodmin Moor](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodmin_Moor) in [Cornwall](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornwall).[\[1\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tor_\(rock_formation\)#cite_note-Goudie2004a-1)

![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/d2bf3176ddb19d90f47c0d46d2b0c5e75b11a426a5c5d1cb1691778c472829a1.png)

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*Originally published on [xWhiteOuroboros](https://paragraph.com/@xwhiteouroboros/tor-rock-formation)*