Gilbert Hill in Mumbai.
Photo credit: Mrityunjay Bose
The Gilbert Hill in Mumbai - a geological wonder - would be transformed into an international tourism spot.
Located in Andheri West, the Gilbert Hill was formed into a rock with a sheer vertical face and was formed when molten lava was squeezed out of the Earth's clefts during the Mesozoic era about 66 million years ago.
“We would transform Gilbert Hill into an international tourism spot,” said Mangal Prabhat Lodha, Minister for Skills, Employment, Entrepreneurship and Innovation, who is also the Guardian Minister of Mumbai Suburban district.
This 200-feet (around 61 metres) monolith column of black basalt rock is unique in many respects. It is actually the vertical remaining face of molten lava that came out of the Earth during the Mesozoic Era. The lava covered an area of over 50,000 sq km in what is today Maharashtra, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh.
It was declared a National Park under the Forest Act in 1952, while the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation categorised it as a Grade II heritage structure in 2007.
There are two temples - a Hanuman mandir and Gaondevi Durgadevi mandir - on the top of the Hill. There are two more similar structures on Earth, both in the United States - Devils Tower National Monument in Wyoming and Devils Postpile National Monument in California.