Ball’s Pyramid: World’s Largest Volcanic Stack
Ball’s Pyramid is a sea stack, a great jagged spire rising from the Tasman Sea. Its steep base, roughly 650 feet across, is battered by the rugged sea, making the landing a serious challenge. Royal Navy Lieutenant Henry Lidgbird Ball is credited with discovering Ball’s Pyramid in 1788, which was named in his honor. It is located off the southeast shores of Lord Howe Island, over 400 miles northeast of Sydney, Australia.
Lord Howe Island has a spectacular landscape with the volcanic mountains of Mount Gower and Mount Lidgbird looming over the island. Ball’s Pyramid is one of many sea stacks off shore, the eroded remains of what once were much larger volcanoes that formed about 7 million years ago.
It is 562 meters (1,844 ft) high, while measuring only 1,100 meters (3,600 ft) in length and 300 meters (980 ft) across, making it the tallest volcanic stack in the world.
Ball’s Pyramid looks like a place where nothing could survive, but isn’t devoid of life. It is home to the rarest insect in the world, the Lord Howe stick insect, famous for being big as a human hand. The Europeans labeled it a “tree lobster” because of its size and hard exoskeleton. It’s 12 centimeters long and the heaviest flightless stick insect in the world. Local fishermen used to put them on fishing hooks and use them as bait.
Location: Near Lord Howe Island, Australia
Thank you Aija for the submission.
UnusualPlaces Field Notes
- Location
- Ball’s Pyramid, Lord Howe Island Marine Park, New South Wales, Australia
- Coordinates
- -31.75368, 159.25119
- Access
- This is an offshore sea stack about 23 km southeast of Lord Howe Island, not a landing point. View it by boat or join a licensed local diving/fishing charter. The NSW park plan says recreational climbing on Ball’s Pyramid is prohibited and its cliffs are too unstable for safe recreational access; there is no safe general visitor landing. Advanced certification is required for diving.
- Admission
- No public landing or stand-alone entry ticket is offered. Viewing and diving require separately booked local operator trips; charter prices vary, and no single standard rate applies.
- Time needed
- A local operator lists an approximately four-hour Ball’s Pyramid and island nature-watching cruise; other boat, fishing and dive itineraries vary with the route and sea conditions.
- Best season
- No single preferred season is published. A local operator lists dedicated Ball’s Pyramid expeditions in May, June and September, and says all trips depend on weather; confirm current seasonal departures directly.
- Opening hours
- There are no walk-in opening hours or public landing. Access is by a pre-arranged boat or dive charter, with departure times and operation dependent on the operator and sea conditions.
- Location checked
- 2026-09-26
- Facts checked
- 2026-09-30
Map marks the area, not a visitor entrance.
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Ur thing sucked i used informacion on this for my project and i fail. u guys should get this thing shut down for being so bad
Have you worked out why you failed yet?