What are facts about Uluru aka Ayers Rock?

Answer 1

Uluru, or Ayers Rock, is mistakenly thought to be the largest monolith. However, Uluru is only the world's second-largestfree-standing single, large rock. Its circumference is just over 9km, and it rises 349 metres above the surrounding plain. Only one-seventh of the rock is visible above the ground. The rest lies beneath the ground. It is located in Kata Tjuta National Park 450 km southwest of Alice Springs. The largest rock in the whole world is actually Mt Augustus (Burringurrah, as it is known by Wajarri Yamatji traditional owners), in Western Australia, located inland, east of Carnarvon, and about 850km north of Perth. It is more than twice the size of Ayers Rock. It rises 717 metres above the stony desert, and extends for a length of 8km - almost the entire circumference of Uluru.

Geological evidence indicates that larger monoliths existed North of Ayers Rocks but have be broken down through exfoliation (heating an cooling causing outer layer to keep breaking off until only bits are left).

Uluru, or Ayers Rock, is in the southern part of Australia's Northern Territory, about 75 km from the South Australian border.

The Anangu people of central Australia are the indigenous owners of Uluru.

Uluru is the aboriginal name for what the European explorers named Ayers Rock. Uluru was the name by which the rock was known for thousands of years prior to European settlement.

The feature was given the name Ayers Rock by explorer William Gosse after the former Premier of South Australia, Sir Henry Ayers. It is now known as Uluru/Ayers Rock, the title it was officially given in 2002, in order to acknowledge the traditional indigenous owners of the land. Gosse, of the South Australian Survey Department, is believed to have been the first European explorer to see Ayers Rock. Gosse discovered the monolith by accident during an expedition through Australia's interior. The need to find water for his camels forced him to take a more southerly course than he had originally planned. On 18 July 1873 he sighted Ayers Rock, recording that, "This rock is certainly the most wonderful natural feature I have ever seen".

It is about 440km from Alice Springs to Uluru (Ayers Rock) by road. The roads are straight but the shoulders can be soft and dusty, so drivers need to be careful when passing other vehicles. The journey by road is a minimum of about five and a half hours.