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Uluru (; ), also known as Ayers Rock ( ) and officially gazetted as UluruAyers Rock, is a large sandstone monolith. It outcrop near the centre of Australia in the southern part of the Northern Territory, south-west of Alice Springs.
Uluru is sacred to the Pitjantjatjara, the Aboriginal people of the area, known as the Aṉangu. The area around the formation is home to an abundance of springs, waterholes, rock caves and cave painting. Uluru is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Uluru and Kata Tjuta (Also known as the Olgas) are the two major features of the Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park.
Uluru is one of Australia's most recognisable natural and has been a popular destination for tourists since the late 1930s. It is also one of the most important indigenous sites in Australia.
On 19 July 1873, the surveyor William Gosse sighted the landmark and named it Ayers Rock in honour of the then Chief Secretary of South Australia, Sir Henry Ayers.
In 1993, a dual naming policy was adopted that allowed official names that consist of both the traditional Aboriginal name (in the Pitjantjatjara, Yankunytjatjara and other local languages) and the English name. On 15 December 1993, it was renamed "Ayers Rock / Uluru" and became the first official dual-named feature in the Northern Territory. The order of the dual names was officially reversed to "Uluru / Ayers Rock" on 6 November 2002 following a request from the Regional Tourism Association in Alice Springs.
Kata Tjuta, also called Mount Olga or the Olgas, lies west of Uluru. Special viewing areas with road access and parking have been constructed to give tourists the best views of both sites at dawn and dusk.
Both Uluru and the nearby Kata Tjuta formation have great cultural significance for the local Aṉangu people, the traditional inhabitants of the area, who lead walking tours to inform visitors about the bush, food, local flora and fauna, and the Aboriginal Dreamtime stories of the area.
Further explorations followed with the aim of establishing the possibilities of the area for pastoralism. In the late 19th century, pastoralists attempted to establish themselves in areas adjoining the Southwestern/Petermann Reserve and interaction between Aṉangu and white people became more frequent and more violent. Due to the effects of grazing and drought, bush food stores became depleted. Competition for these resources created conflict between the two groups, resulting in more frequent police patrols. Later, during the depression in the 1930s, Aṉangu became involved in dingo scalping with 'doggers' who introduced the Aṉangu to European foods and ways.
The Aboriginal community of Mutitjulu, with a population of approximately 300, is located near the eastern end of Uluru. From Uluru it is by road to the tourist town of Yulara, population 3,000, which is situated just outside the national park.
On 8 October 2009, the Talinguru Nyakuntjaku viewing area opened to public visitation. The project about on the east side of Uluru involved design and construction supervision by the Aṉangu traditional owners of of roads and of walking trails.
In 1983, the Ayers Rock Campground opened, followed by the Four Seasons Hotel (later renamed Voyages Desert Gardens Hotel) and the Sheraton Hotel (Voyages Sails in the Desert) in 1984. The town square, bank and primary school were also established. After the Commonwealth Government handed the national park back to its traditional owners in 1985, management of the park was transferred from the Northern Territory Government to the Australian National Parks and Wildlife Service the following year. In July 1992, Yulara Development Company was dissolved and the Ayers Rock Resort Company was established, after which all hotels came under the same management.
Since the park was listed as a World Heritage Site, annual visitor numbers rose to over 400,000 visitors by 2000. Increased tourism provides regional and national economic benefits. It also presents an ongoing challenge to balance conservation of cultural values and visitor needs.
On 11 December 1983, the Prime Minister of Australia, Bob Hawke, promised to hand back the land title to the Aṉangu traditional custodians and caretakers and agreed to the community's 10-point plan which included forbidding the climbing of Uluru. The government set access to climb Uluru and a 99-year lease, instead of the previously agreed upon 50-year lease, as conditions before the title was officially given back to the Aṉangu on 26 October 1985.
A chain handhold, added to the rock in 1964 and extended in 1976, made the hour-long climb easier, but it remained a steep, hike to the top, where it can be quite windy. It was recommended that individuals drink plenty of water while climbing, and that those who were Physical fitness, or who suffered from vertigo or medical conditions restricting exercise, did not attempt it. Climbing Uluru was generally closed to the public when high winds were present at the top. As of July 2018, 37 deaths related to recreational climbing have been recorded.
According to a 2010 publication, just over one-third of all visitors to the park climbed Uluru; a high percentage of these were children. (2025). 9780980746013, Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts. . ISBN 9780980746013 About one-sixth of visitors made the climb between 2011 and 2015.
The traditional owners of Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park (Nguraritja) and the Federal Government's Director of National Parks share decision-making on the management of Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park. Under their joint Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park Management Plan 2010–20, issued by the Director of National Parks under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, clause 6.3.3 provides that the Director and the Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa Board of Management should work to close the climb upon meeting any of three conditions: there were "adequate new visitor experiences", less than 20 per cent of visitors made the climb, or the "critical factors" in decisions to visit were "cultural and natural experiences". (2025). 9780980746013, Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts. . ISBN 9780980746013 Despite cogent evidence that the second condition was met by July 2013, the climb remained open.
Several controversial incidents on top of Uluru in 2010, including a striptease, golfing and nudity, led to renewed calls for banning the climb. On 1 November 2017, the Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park board voted unanimously to prohibit climbing Uluru. As a result, there was a surge in climbers and visitors after the ban was announced. The ban took effect on 26 October 2019, and the guide chains that aided climbers were removed. Uluru chains removed, but site may take 'thousands of years' to return to natural state ABC News, 13 November 2019. Tretrieced 13 November 2019.
A November 2017 NT News poll found that 63% of respondents did not support the ban. Uluru climb banned by traditional owners NT News. Retrieved 11 March 2023 A 2019 Essential poll found that 44% supported the ban, while 30% opposed it.
In September 2020, Parks Australia alerted Google Australia to the user-generated images from the Uluru summit that have been posted on the Google Maps platform and requested that the content be removed in accordance with the wishes of Aṉangu, Uluru's traditional owners, and the national park's Film and Photography Guidelines. Google agreed to the request.
Uluru's homogeneity and lack of jointing and parting at bedding surfaces inhibits the development of scree slopes and soil. These characteristics led to its survival, while the surrounding rocks were eroded. (1992). 9780644256810, Australian Geological Survey Organisation. ISBN 9780644256810
For the purpose of mapping and describing the geological history of the area, geologists refer to the rock Stratum making up Uluru as the Mutitjulu Arkose, and it is one of many sedimentary rock filling the Amadeus Basin.
The rock was originally sand, deposited as part of an extensive alluvial fan that extended out from the ancestors of the Musgrave Ranges, Mann and Petermann Ranges to the south and west, but separate from a nearby fan that deposited the sand, pebbles and cobbles that now make up Kata Tjuta.
The similar mineral composition of the Mutitjulu Arkose and the granite ranges to the south is now explained. The ancestors of the ranges to the south were once much larger than the eroded remnants we see today. They were thrust up during a Orogeny episode referred to as the Petermann Orogeny that took place in late Neoproterozoic to early Cambrian times (550–530 Megaannum), and thus the Mutitjulu Arkose is believed to have been deposited at about the same time, hence then in Gondwana (now in Australia).
The arkose sandstone that makes up the formation is composed of grains that show little sorting based on grain size and exhibit very little rounding; the in the rock are relatively fresh in appearance. This lack of sorting and grain rounding is typical of arkosic sandstones and is indicative of relatively rapid erosion from the granites of the growing mountains to the south. The layers of sand were nearly horizontal when deposited, but were tilted to their near vertical position during a later episode of mountain building, possibly the Alice Springs Orogeny of Paleozoic age (400–300 Annum).
Two other accounts are given in Norbert Brockman's (1997) Encyclopedia of Sacred Places. The first tells of serpents who waged many wars around Uluru, scarring the rock. The second tells of two tribes of ancestral spirits who were invited to a feast, but were distracted by the beautiful Sleepy Lizard Women and did not show up. In response, the angry hosts sang evil into a mud sculpture that came to life as the dingo. There followed a great battle, which ended in the deaths of the leaders of both tribes. The earth itself rose up in grief at the bloodshed, becoming Uluru.
It is sometimes reported that those who take rocks from the formation will be cursed and suffer misfortune. There have been many instances where people who removed such rocks attempted to mail them back to various agencies in an attempt to remove the perceived curse.
Aṉangu believe that the ancestors still exist at Uluru today. Luunpa, now a large rock, keeps watch, while the men killed by Kurpany are still in their cave. Kurpany's footprints, heading eastwards and southwards, are still in the rock. The teaching from this story is that people need to heed warnings of danger, and to finish what they have begun.
The mulgara is mostly restricted to the transitional sand plain area, a narrow band of country that stretches from the vicinity of Uluru to the northern boundary of the park and into Ayers Rock Resort. This area also contains the marsupial mole, woma python and great desert skink.
The bat population of the park comprises at least seven species that depend on day roosting sites within caves and crevices of Uluru and Kata Tjuta. Most of the bats forage for aerial predation within or so from the rock face. The park has a very rich reptile fauna of high conservation significance, with 73 species having been reliably recorded. Four species of are abundant at the base of Uluru and Kata Tjuta following summer rains. The great desert skink is listed as vulnerable.
Aṉangu continue to hunt and gather animal species in remote areas of the park and on Aṉangu land elsewhere. Hunting is largely confined to the red kangaroo, bush turkey, emu and such as the sand goanna and perentie.
Of the 27 mammal species found in the park, six are introduced: the house mouse, camel, fox, cat, dog and rabbit. These species are distributed throughout the park, but their densities are greatest near the rich water run-off areas of Uluru and Kata Tjuta.
Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park flora represents a large portion of plants found in Central Australia. A number of these species are considered rare and restricted in the park or the immediate region. Many rare and endemism plants are found in the park.
The growth and reproduction of plant communities rely on irregular rainfall. Some plants are able to survive fire and some are dependent on it to reproduce. Plants are an important part of Tjukurpa, and ceremonies are held for each of the major plant foods. Many plants are associated with .
Flora in Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park can be broken into these categories:
Trees such as the Acacia aneura and Corymbia opaca are used to make tools such as spearheads, and bowls. The red sap of the bloodwood is used as a disinfectant and an inhalant for coughs and colds.
Several rare and endangered species are found in the park. Most of them, like Ophioglossum, are restricted to the moist areas at the base of the formation, which are areas of high visitor use and subject to erosion.
Since the first Europeans arrived, 34 exotic plant species have been recorded in the park, representing about 6.4% of the total park flora. Some, such as perennial buffel grass ( Cenchrus ciliaris), were introduced to rehabilitate areas damaged by erosion. It is the most threatening weed in the park and has spread to invade water- and nutrient-rich drainage lines. A few others, such as burrgrass, were brought in accidentally, carried on cars and people.
Local Aboriginal people recognise five seasons:
Flora and fauna
Historically, 46 species of native are known to have been living near Uluru; according to recent surveys there are currently 21. Aṉangu acknowledge that a decrease in the number has implications for the condition and health of the landscape. Moves are supported for the reintroduction of locally extinct animals such as malleefowl, common brushtail possum, rufous hare-wallaby or mala, bilby, boodie and the black-flanked rock-wallaby.Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa Board of Management (2025). 9780642546739, Environment Australia. . ISBN 9780642546739
Climate and five seasons
The park has a hot desert climate and receives an average rainfall of per year. The average high temperature in summer (December–January) is , and the average low temperature in winter (June–July) is . Temperature extremes in the park have been recorded at during summer and during winter. UV levels are extreme between October and March, averaging between 11 and 15 on the UV index. Yulara Ultraviolet (UV) Index Forecast Graph. Australian Bureau of Meteorology. Retrieved 20 April 2014.
See also
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