The "Carbon Obelisk" is a 14-meter-tall outdoor sculpture by American artist Rita McBride. It was created for the Emscherkunst exhibition during the Ruhr.2010 European Capital of Culture year. The monument stands in Essen-Karnap directly along the Emscher Park bike path, just north of the Schurenbachhalde slag heap.

The high-tech material carbon creates a conceptual link to the region's industrial past based on coal (carbon). The sculpture marks the structural transformation of the Emscher region from an industrial waste canal to a recreational nature area. It stands in direct line of sight to Richard Serra's famous "Slab for the Ruhr District" landmark.