Uluru

Uluru, also known as Ayers Rock, is a large sandstone formation located in the southern part of the Northern Territory in Australia.

The Pitjantjatjara people, who are the Aboriginal people of the area and known as A?angu, call the landmark Ulu?u.

Uluru stands 348m high, rising 863m above sea level with most of its bulk lying underground, and has a total perimeter of 9.4km. The sandstone formation appears to change colour at different times of the day and year, most notably when it glows red at dawn and sunset because the reddish colour in the rock derives from iron oxide in the sandstone. The nearby formation, Kata Tjuta or Mount Olga, lies 25km west of Uluru.

According to the A?angu people, who are the traditional landowners of Uluru, there are stories involved with it dating back thousands of years. The world was a featureless place, none of the places we know existed until creator beings made the landscape.

The park’s flora represents a large number of plants found in Central Australia, and some of them are rare and restricted in the park or its nearby area. Several rare and endangered species are found in the park. The A?angu people continue to hunt and gather animal species in remote areas of the park and on A?angu land elsewhere.

Tourism infrastructure began developing in the 1950s, but this soon had adverse environmental impacts, and it was decided in the early 1970s to re-establish all accommodation-related tourist facilities outside the park. In 1975, land was reserved for the development of a tourist