Uluru/Kata Tjuta National Park
This World Heritage listed Park of ancient geological treasures epitomise the Australian Outback for hundreds of thousand of visitors who flock there every year to witness its stunning grandeur. The park is located close to the centre of Australia and takes in 132,566 hectares of arid ecosystems - as well as its two most famous features, Uluru (Ayers Rock) and Kata Tjuta (the Olgas). These remarkable formations stand dramatic and stark in contrast to the surrounding flat, plain landscape of the desert.

Uluru (Ayers Rock) rises 348 metres above the desert floor and measures 9.4 kilometres around its girth - the equivalent of a three to four hour walk. It comprises 0.54 cubic kilometres in volume above the ground and extends 3.1 km from east to west and 1.9 km from north to south. Such vital statistics have assured this gigantic natural icon its status as the largest and most famous monolith in the world. But the size of the Rock is even more incredible when you consider that an estimated two thirds of it lies beneath the surface. Images of the rock are used around the world as the symbol of the Australian landscape. Uluru is the Aboriginal name for rockhole in the vicinity.

Uluru's ancient neighbour, Kata Tjuta (the Olgas), 50 km to the west, is a spectacular collection of 36 weathered red domes with steep sides, separate by narrow valleys between and covering about 35 sq km. Kata Tjuta's highest feature is Mt Olga which rises 546 metres from the desert floor and 1072 metres above sea level. In the language of the local Anangu people, Kata Tjuta means 'many heads'. Kata Tjuta (the Olgas) might be less famous than
Uluru (Ayers Rock) but park visitors are always captivated by its sheer beauty and many people believe it hold even greater charm than its monolithic neighbour to the east.

Geologically, both Uluru (Ayers Rock) and Kata Tjuta (the Olgas) started out as sediments laid down in a shallow inland sea known as the Amadeus Basin. More than 300 million years ago, the sediments were forced upwards, buckling and thrusting above the sea level. The force created cracks and fissures that have been eroded over millions of years to form the smooth domes visible at Kata Tjuta (the Olgas). Scientists studying the Uluru-Kata Tjuta landscape have found evidence of invertebrate life forms aged between 435 and 600 million years old which inhabited the surrounding sea.

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