Interesting Facts About The Uluru Rock in Australia

When you think of Australia whats the first thing that pops into your mind? For me it would be the Uluru, the jaw dropping, incredibly beautiful icon of the vast red center. The Uluru otherwise known as Ayers Rock rises 348 meters high, but surprisingly (to me anyway) the majority of the formation is underground. The Uluru and nearby Kata Tjuta have a huge cultural significance to the original native inhabitants known as the the An angu people that's hard for outsiders to fully grasp.

Now lets get down to some interesting facts about the Uluru

The Uluru is the largest solitary rock on earth.

It consists sandstone.

The deep red color is due to the high Eisengehalt.

The Uluru Kata Tjuta National Park was established originally under the Northern Territory Government as a Park in 1958.

The base walk is 9km and can be done in 2 hours at a fast walk or around 4 hours at a more gentle pace.

The Uluru climb could be closed at anytime due to Aboriginal cultural requirements or extreme weather conditions.

It is a sacred place for the Aboriginals, and as a gesture of respect most tourists decide not to scale it.

The Uluru has been called a monolith and has been listed in world record books as the largest monolith in the world for many years.

It changes colour dramatically as different light strikes at different times of the day.

It is Australia's most recognizable natural wonder.

It has a height of over 1000 feet.

Uluru is the original Aboriginal name.

It is a sacred place for the Aboriginals,

It extends down 3 miles below the surface.

The Peak is the highest summit around the Kobo crater rim.

The Uluru rock was originally sand that was deposited as part of an extensive alluvial fan.

It was named "Ayers Rock" in honor of the Australian Premier Sir Henry Ayers.

It is approximately one mile wide and a mile and a half long.

Very near to the Uluru are The Olgas, which means little heads.

The locals of the Uluru are the aboriginal folks also called the Anangu.

In the afternoon, the Uluru changes to an orange colour then slowly into a deeper red as the sun sets.

Climbing of the Uluru is strongly looked down upon both by the officials and the locals as a form of respect to the Anangu people.

Traditional burning of the area finished when the Anangu people were driven from the region during the 1930s.

The simplest way to get to the Uluru is to drive or join a tour from Alice Springs.

The first tourists visited the Uluru area in 1936.

The first Aboriginal settlement in the Uluru area has not been determined, but through archaeological findings it has been estimated at more than 10,000 years ago. Some scholars believe that human settlement may date back some 22,000 years.

The earliest non native man to have arrived at the Uluru was explorer Ernest Giles in 1872.

In 1993 the rock became the first dual named feature of the Northern Territory called Ayers Rock/Uluru.

It lies in the Uluru Kata Tjuta National Park approximately 350 km southwest from Alice Springs.

46 species of native mammal are known to have lived in the Uluru region but currently 21 species remain.

I hope you've enjoyed reading my list of interesting facts about the Uluru, I know I enjoyed researching them. The Uluru is an incredible place to visit, if you get the chance I fully recommend renting a car or camper and hitting the Stuart highway for a road trip you will never forget!