The Cottaer Spitzberg with its 391 m cannot keep up with the mountains in the nearby Saxon Switzerland or the Osterzgebirge in terms of altitude by far, but due to its location it offers a special perspective in a far and complete panoramic view. On the other hand, Cottaer Spitzberg, as the dominant of its immediate surroundings, is easily recognisable from many distant points, even if it is truly not pointed (as the German name suggests).
These characteristics predestined it for inclusion in land surveying by triangulation. For this purpose a triangulation column was erected on the mountain in 1865, which has recently been somewhat restored.
The geological peculiarity of the mountain is that it was formed in a volcanic eruption through the sandstone deposits of Saxon Switzerland and is therefore made of basalt. In that it's rather lonely in the surroundings deominated by sandstone, gneiss and granite. Further examples of this would be the Stolpener Burgberg, the Geisingberg or the Wilisch.
The basalt on the summit was removed in a quarry. Thanks to the triangulation column, however, a part had to be left over, where the basalt columns can be seen today.
