Cliffside sculptures have long captured human imagination, blending artistry with the raw power of nature. Among the most famous is the Great Sphinx of Giza, carved from bedrock over 4,500 years ago, though not strictly a cliff, its monumental scale sets the standard.

More dramatic examples include the Buddhas of Bamiyan in Afghanistan, tragically destroyed in 2001 but remaining iconic symbols of cliff-carved religious art. The towering 6th-century statues once gazed serenely across the valley from their sandstone niches.

Mount Rushmore in South Dakota represents modern cliff sculpture at its most ambitious. Gutzon Borglum's 60-foot presidential portraits (1927-1941) transformed a granite face into a national symbol. Nearby, the unfinished Crazy Horse Memorial continues this tradition at even grander scale.

Norway's Trollveggen features contemporary climbing route sculptures, while China's Leshan Giant Buddha (8th century) remains the world's largest stone Buddha at 233 feet tall, its toes lapped by river waters.

These works share a common audacity - artists didn't just place art in nature, they made nature itself the medium. From spiritual devotion to political statement, each carving tells why humans keep returning to stone faces to make their mark.