Mountain in the center of Australia. The many faces of Mount Uluru in Australia. Also known as Ayers Rock. Sacred mountain of the Australian aborigines

Ayers Rock is the largest and oldest monolith rock in the world. This unique place is one of the main attractions of Australia

Ayers Rock- orange-brown oval-shaped rock, formed about 680 million years ago. Its oval "hump" 2.4 kilometers long and 1.6 kilometers wide rises 348 meters above the surrounding plain! This is what remains of the great Peterman mountain range. Ayers Rock is part of the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park

There was a lot of controversy about the origin of Peterman in his time. The mystery of the emergence of a huge mountain range in the middle of an endless, flat, table-like desert gave rise to a lot of the most incredible assumptions, such as the fact that this is a giant iron meteorite that fell on the plain thousands of years ago. Later, geologists explained the appearance of Ayers Rock in a much simpler way, which, of course, did not make it less impressive, although after that it became a little less mysterious)

According to modern science, Ayers Rock is a typical product of erosion - the never-ending process of the destruction of high relief by natural forces and the transformation of rugged terrain into a plain. At the same time, more durable rock masses that survived are called remnants by scientists. They can be found in the Sahara on the Tibesti plateau, in Arabia and in the American Monument Valley. A typical remnant is sugar loaf in Rio de Janeiro. The same remnant is Ayers Rock, with the only difference that it overshadows any of them both in its size and the impression of absolute unreality that arises at the sight of a huge rock that reigns over hundreds of kilometers around plain

The first European who saw a huge stone block in the middle of the desert was Ernest Giles. In the 19th century, he noticed a rock from the shores of Lake Amadies, but he could not reach it. However, a year later, the English explorer William Goss climbed to the top of the miracle mountain. He named the rock "Ayers Rock" after Secretary of State South Australia Henry Ayers

The circumference of the rock is about 9 km, and to get to the top, you have to overcome an inclined path 1.6 km long. Not everyone can overcome a risky rise, although now in the most dangerous places and put metal railings

From the top Ayers Rock offers a beautiful view of the vast desert, which is spread out in all directions, almost devoid of vegetation - only at the foot of the cliff do rare groves of stunted eucalyptus and acacia trees turn green

Australian Aborigines call this rock Uluru and have considered it sacred for thousands of years. This word does not mean anything and is often used by the natives as a name. Numerous legends and traditions are associated with the name of Uluru. Giant, animal-like dents on a strong stone gave rise to many legends and beliefs among superstitious indigenous Australians.

The natives believe that the monstrous huge dog Kura-Punya left footprints on the rock, sneaking up to the hunters' camp in order to devour them all without a trace. Only the help of the everlasting friend of people - the cheerful kookaburra bird, which with its cry warned people about the approach of a terrible beast, saved their lives.

In the caves at the foot of the cliff, many ritual drawings of the natives have been preserved. Ayers Rock can, without exaggeration, be called the center of the primitive culture of the indigenous inhabitants of Australia. The dimensions of the caves are impressive: the largest of them reach 800 meters in length and 30 meters in height. Three small lakes even formed in the caves, filled during the rainy season with water seeping through the cracks of the rock. So in the hot summer, when all the sources in the area dried up, the natives found here shelter from the hot rays of the sun and life-giving moisture.

Ayers Rock looks unusual in any light, and during sunset or sunrise, you have to constantly remind yourself that this is not a dream, but real natural phenomenon)

The stone monolith is famous for the fact that it can change its color during the day, like a chameleon, from fiery red and pink, to purple, blue and brown.

Time and natural forces have worked hard on the surface of the rock, leaving notches and scars on it, and even large recesses of the most bizarre shape. When rains are rare for this area, silvery streams of water run down the cracks and grooves.

Tourists started visiting Ayers Rock only in the middle of the last century, after the completion of the construction of the highway through this area. Despite the remoteness and inaccessibility of this corner of Australia, located in the very center of the continent, the flow of tourists who want to see unique rock, is growing every year. People on cars and planes get here to admire the beauty of the extraordinary landscape, which cannot be found anywhere else in the world!

The eighth wonder of the world, Red Mountain, sacred place All these words are about amazing grief located in Australia. Uluru or Ayers Rock is one of the recognizable symbols of the Green Continent. Uluru rock, resembling a huge resting elephant, is incredibly beautiful, and is rightfully considered one of the most remarkable natural wonders of our planet.

Chameleon Rock Ayers Rock

The fantastic red mountain is located 450 km from the Australian city of Alice Springs. Its height is 838 m, and its length is 3.6 km. This red sandstone is covered with cracks everywhere. Some of them reach a depth of 2m. It is the properties of sandstone that allow the rock to flow throughout the day. At dawn, the mountain appears dark purple, during the day it acquires a golden hue, and in the late afternoon it becomes completely dark.

Riddles of the ancient mountain

Millions of years ago, in the center of Australia, there was a mountain range that looked like an island. The rocks gradually collapsed, settled and formed a giant rock. It is interesting that Uluru lies in the middle, but hurricanes constantly rush around it, which bring down on the surroundings heavy rains. So deep cracks appear on the surface of the mountain. The alternation of heat and heavy rains causes the sandstone to shrink and then expand. This process does not stop.

sacred mountain Uluru

Scientists believe that amazing mountain is over 6 million years old! The base of the rock has evidence that tells about the life of ancient people. Rock paintings were found depicting ancient deities: the mistress of Mount Kuniya, the Brown Snake Lyra, the patron of mammals, the Hare Kangaroo.

Place of pilgrimage for tourists

After the construction in the 1950s of the motorway leading to amazing rock, a real pilgrimage began for those wishing to see the eighth wonder of the world. But the terrain of Uluru's surface is so difficult, cracks and slippery places after rains, plus high temperatures, make it difficult to climb the mountain. In the first 15 years, only 22 people climbed up. The number is currently in the thousands.

Since 1985, Aires Rock has been officially leased by the Anangu tribe as national park. Aborigines are interested in the development of tourism associated with the chameleon rock. They equipped a path along which you can climb up. There is a certain place where you can climb the rock. These precautions prevent accidents that have happened before. The scorching sun and bumps pose a danger to travelers. It is better to follow the advice of the conductors.

UNESCO recognized the sacred rock of Uluru as the Eighth Wonder of the World and added it to the List World Heritage. It is difficult to imagine Australia without the famous Red Mountain, which can often be seen on the covers of guidebooks and photo albums about the most interesting places planets.

Mount Uluru in Australia photo

Uluru is a massive orange-brown oval rock located in Australia. It formed about 680 million years ago. This is one of the most recognizable symbols of Australia and the main attraction of the national park of the same name, which lies in the center of the continent.

The base of the rock is carved with caves, decorated with ancient rock paintings and stone carvings. According to the myths of the natives, the owner of the mountain, the water python, once lived here. And on a steep slope lived a black monitor lizard. Aborigines perform rituals at the sacred rock.

Uluru Rock is made up of red sandstone, which has unique properties that allow it to change color depending on the lighting. At dawn, the mountain brightens, turning deep purple, at noon, Uluru flashes purple-red, then glows pink, and turns gold by three o'clock in the afternoon. By evening, the rock again turns into a dark silhouette against the backdrop of the desert.

After rain, many small waterfalls flow down from the top of the cliff, which go through many steps before reaching the foot of the cliff. This is an amazingly beautiful, but rather rare sight.

Desert Simpson

The Simpson Desert is the main part of the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park in Australia. The desert was so named by Cecil Medigan, he named it the Simpson Desert in honor of Alfred Simpson, president of the South Australian chapter of the Royal geographical society. This desert is famous for the fact that its sands are bright red and like scarlet waves continuously roll over the desert. The Simpson Desert is the most inhospitable place in Australia.

The landscapes of this place amaze the imagination: between high dunes there are areas of smooth clay crust and rocky plains strewn with turned stones. Simpson is the driest desert on the continent and only gnarled bushes and tough grass can exist here. Of the animals here, only lizards and small jumpers survive, hiding from the heat of the day in burrows. Rare showers transform this land, and the desert is covered with a living green carpet. Soon, bright purple strokes appear on it: this is paraquilla blooming.

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Mount Uluru

Uluru or Ayers Rock is a sacred place for Australian aborigines. The base of the rock is cut by caves, and their walls are covered with ancient inscriptions and drawings. Since ancient times, it was believed that the owner of the red giant, the water python, lived here. Because locals still come to the foot of the cliff to perform a ceremony in honor of the natural deity. The mountain giant consists of red sandstone, and it is thanks to its amazing property to change color that Uluru looks completely different at dawn and dusk.

To enjoy amazing beauty landscape, you can drive through the desert on a motorcycle or on a camel's hump, and the whole panorama is worth seeing from the cockpit of a helicopter. Near the mountain there are other sights of the Red Center: gorges, national parks, canyons. And on the territory national park you can meet the second symbol of Australia - the kangaroo.

Ayers Rock Airport is located near resort town Uluru, northern territory. Focused on servicing passengers arriving from Sydney and Alice Springs.

Ayers Rock has developed into an independent airfield thanks to its proximity to Mount Uluru, which has become one of the symbols of Australia. The airport has one main terminal, which houses check-in counters, a loading system and a baggage carousel.

The airport is able to receive as many aircraft small aviation, and large passenger boards.

It also houses the Australian National Geographic Museum.

Mount Ayres

Ayers Rock, located in Australia's Cathaya Tjuta National Park, is the largest monolithic rock in the world. This huge rock is a solid solid rock, like an ordinary pebble from the road has been enlarged to an incredible size. The main attraction of Australia is a sacred place for the Aborigines living here. They call it Uluru and consider it the sanctuary of the Dreamtime.

Ayers rock is as much a symbol of Australia as Sydney Opera theatre. A rock 348 meters high and 9 km at the base is only the top huge mountain extending into the ground for many kilometers. Throughout the day, Auers rock changes its color from black and dark blue to piercing red. And although from afar the rock may seem smooth as an egg, in fact it is all covered with furrows and cracks.

You can climb the red center of the continent with the help of a guide, who are the same local natives. They speak excellent English and can surprise you more than one mysterious story. And although the locals are cool about foreigners who trample on their shrine, walks to the top are held regularly.

The most popular attractions in Uluru with descriptions and photos for every taste. choose best places for visiting famous places Uluru on our website.

Most of the tourists arriving on the Australian mainland tend to visit the world-famous Sydney Opera House, watch kangaroos and koalas, or go diving at the Bolshoi barrier reef. All these attractions definitely deserve the attention of tourists and vacationers from all over the world. But there is another place here, which in last years becomes a particularly popular tourist destination.

450 km from Alice Springs (often called the middle of Australia - it is located in the center of the motorway and railway connecting northern and southern part mainland) and 18 km from the resort of Yulara (here is tourist area and Ayers Rock Airport) is one of the main historical natural attractions of the Australian continent - Uluru rock. Also known as . This is the largest rock in the world, which is a pure monolith (that is, solid stone). In addition, Uluru is also one of the oldest geological formations, dating back to the Archean era (the age of the rock is about 680 million years).

The size of Ayers Rock is amazing. 348 m high, 1.6 km wide and 2.4 km long. The circumference is about 9.4 km. The location of Uluru is also unusual. The rock rises in the middle of a vast desert plain, which makes it even more majestic and grandiose against the background of the surrounding landscape. When you look at Ayers Rock from a distance of several hundred meters, it seems perfectly smooth. But as soon as you get closer, a completely different picture emerges before your eyes. The monolith is completely covered with cracks, furrows and notches, which nature itself has created over millions of years.

Strong winds, temperature fluctuations (during the day there is unbearable heat, and cold at night) and heavy rains created a natural "drainage system" on the surface of Uluru, through which flows of moisture rush to the foot of the cliff. Here, below, there are water sources that allow some aboriginal tribes and dozens of animal species (possums, kangaroos) and plants (eucalyptus, acacia) to exist in this desert area. According to archaeological excavations, Aboriginal tribes already lived in these places more than 10 thousand years ago.

But all these features would hardly make Ayers Rock one of the most famous symbols of Australia, which attracts more than 500 thousand tourists every year. The Uluru rock has another quality, for which it was nicknamed the "chameleon rock".

The rock-monolith gained the widest fame due to its unique feature– change color throughout the day, depending on the weather and time of day. Moreover, Uluru does not just darken or brighten, depending on the lighting, but completely changes color - from brown to fiery red, from lilac to blue, from yellow to lilac. That is why she is often compared with a real professional in disguising the animal world - a chameleon. Just imagine how the ancient tribes living at the foot of Ayers Rock reacted to such a color representation.

In fact, all this magic is easily explained. Mineral composition Uluru is represented by arkose sandstone (with impurities of quartz and feldspar). He is the main culprit in changing the color of the monolith, depending on the weather and lighting. In addition, as a result of chemical analysis, iron oxide was found in the rock, which gives the rock a fantastic fiery color. At night, the rock looks like a huge black silhouette, which in the early morning, under the first rays of the sun, turns purple, then red, pink, and yellow-orange by afternoon. Uluru looks especially unusual when it rains, in cloudy weather, showing a cold lilac-blue gamut of shades. They say that you can photograph Ayers Rock without a break. And all the pictures will be different from the rest.

Origin rock Ayers Rock

Around the formation of a stone block in the middle of the endless Australian desert, there were many rumors, assumptions and conjectures. Scientists, explorers and travelers have put forward dozens of theories, many of which are simply fantastic. Some time ago there was a theory according to which Uluru is part of a meteorite that once fell in these places. And only recent research has been able to shed light on the origin of the Ayers Rock monolith.

Thousands of years ago, in the middle of the salt lake Amadius (which today dries up and loses its area), there was a large Mountain chain Peterman, which is, in fact, an island. So, the Uluru rock was once part of this mountain range, which almost completely disappeared under the influence of natural forces. According to scientists, Ayers Rock in its "structure" resembles icebergs plowing the waters of the Northern Arctic Ocean. After all, most of the rock is under the surface of the earth. Somewhere at a depth of 6 km.

The history of the discovery of Uluru

No less interesting is the history of the development of these places. The first European traveler who saw with his own eyes grandiose creation of Australian nature was the Englishman Ernest Giles, who emigrated to Australia with his family in 1850. It happened in 1872 when an explorer spotted Ayers Rock from the shore of Lake Amadius. The monolith was located about 40 km from the traveler, but the discoverer did not manage to get to it.

He nevertheless conquered the summit of Uluru a year later, but he no longer became the first. Before him, another traveler, William Goss, had already climbed the chameleon rock. It was he who named the rock Ayers Rock, after the future Prime Minister of Australia (at that time it was "fashionable" to call natural monuments in honor of statesmen).

Aboriginal legends and mysteries of Uluru rock

No other symbol of Australia is surrounded by as many legends and stories as the rock of Uluru. For the natives, this is not just a rock - it is a sacred place, to which they treat with all honors and respect. They tell ancient legends about the origin and purpose of Ayers Rock.

At the top of Uluru there are giant dents, which the natives believe are the traces of a mythical creature - the huge dingo dog Kulpunya. The monster left dents when it tried to sneak up on the sleeping hunters to maul them. But people are lucky. They were saved by a kookaburra - a bird that woke people up in time with its cries.

According to one of the legends, Ayers Rock appeared in the "time of dreams", when our planet was just forming its current appearance. The rock served as a guide to one of the so-called "dream paths". It was built by the giants who also created man and the earth. They gave the earth to the water serpent Wonambi, who was the highest deity. Later, people multiplied and gave rise to all existing Aboriginal tribes. And all these tribes to this day annually return to the Uluru rock to pay respect to the gods. And the Anangu tribe, which considers itself the direct descendants of those ancient giants, is today recognized as the oldest human race on Earth.

Another legend says that two tribes lived near Uluru - hare kangaroos and python people. According to legend, the female python Kunya laid her eggs in one of the many caves in the rock of Ayers Rock. Later, natives hatched from these eggs. A tribe of venomous snakes originated from the brown snake Liru. They attacked a tribe of python people. The latter were able to escape thanks to the intervention of the goddess of the earth, Bulari, who was the patroness of the hare kangaroo tribe. The hare kangaroos themselves were also attacked by the descendants of Liru, but were able to escape thanks to the ability to gallop like a kangaroo. Bulari unleashed a poisonous cloud on her enemies. And the bodies of the defeated enemies were buried inside the Uluru rock, which, according to the natives, is empty inside. Numerous recesses that can be seen around the rock are considered by the locals to be footprints of the hare kangaroo tribe.

According to other legends, inside the empty area, which is located inside the rock of Ayers Rock, there is a source of great energy. Another belief tells us about the water python, which was the owner of the rock. And on its slopes lived another hero of Australian myths - a black monitor lizard.

According to one legend, Uluru is a living animal that, like an ostrich, stuck its head in the sand. On one of the days of the year, he straightens up to look around. We do not know how shamans learn about the approach of this day, but during this period festivities are held in honor of the "living rock". Perhaps that is why no Austrian native dares to climb to the top of Ayers Rock. After all, such an action is considered a terrible sacrilege that can anger the gods.

Pavda, tourists do not really believe in all these stories and confidently storm the steep slopes of Uluru. And, I must say, in vain. After all, as statistics show, every year several people die, never having overcome a one and a half kilometer climb up the mountain. And all accidents occur under very mysterious circumstances: due to heart failure.

Aborigines also do not recommend taking fragments of the monolith as souvenirs. And thousands of pebbles returned by tourists are proof of this. Often, along with a stone, people send letters in which they talk about the streak of misfortune that appeared in their lives after they picked up and brought a piece of Uluru with them. According to the management of the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, of which Ayers Rock is a part, sometimes tourists return real cobblestones weighing 5-7 kilograms. And everyone complains about the losing streak.

Another mystery of Ayers Rock is the rare torrential rains that hit the desert once every few years. All of them go exclusively over the rock-monolith. Moreover, not a single weather forecaster has yet been able to predict the approach of precipitation in these places. Clouds appear from nowhere and disappear into nowhere. It is also interesting that the shamans of the local tribes always know about the approach of rain in a few weeks. During this period, the tribe begins to pull up to the sacred stone.

Caves, rock art and the connection to UFOs

The countless caves that adorn Ayers Rock have preserved a large number of rock carvings left by ancient tribes. Some of these underground corridors are just under a kilometer long. Inside you can find whole lakes that are filled with life-giving moisture during the rainy season. Not all caves and lakes are open to tourists, as they are sacred to local tribes.

If you study well rock art in the caves of Uluru, you can see the image of the sky god Wanjin, who, with his outlines, very much resembles some kind of astronaut. But the drawing is about 5000 years old. By the way, in Lately from Uluru-Kata Tjuta Park comes a large number of statements from eyewitnesses who allegedly observed UFOs over Ayers Rock. In any case, something similar to the plates of aliens. True, flying objects had the shape of a large triangle.

Ayers Rock for Tourists

It is interesting to observe the growing interest in the Uluru rock from tourists. In the first half of the last century (more precisely, from 1931 to 1946), only 22 travelers climbed to the top of the monolith rock. Such a small number is connected, first of all, with the absence of any roads.

But since 1950, when the construction of the highway was completed here, the flow of tourists who want to see the Australian miracle with their own eyes has increased significantly. People travel here to this day in cars and planes. In 2000, the number of tourists exceeded 400 thousand people, and today the annual flow of people who want to see Ayers Rock exceeds half a million people.

Since October 26, 1985, Ayers Rock has been officially recognized as the property of the Anangu tribe. True, modern natives did not become "greedy", but decided to let tourists into these places. True, for the benefit of his tribe. Uluru was leased to the Australian government for 99 years. annual rent is $75,000. In addition, Aboriginal people receive 20% of the cost of each ticket to Uluru-Kata Tjuta. The cost of a three-day ticket for one person is $25.

The most desperate tourists can try to climb to the top of Ayers Rock to enjoy beautiful view stretching for many kilometers around the desert. True, to walk 1.6 km of the way, you need to have remarkable health and strength. Indeed, in addition to necessary equipment, have to bear large stock water, without which the rise becomes deadly. Fortunately, metal railings were installed in the most difficult places.

But don't think that comfortable rest and Ayers Rock is incompatible. After all, there are luxury hotels nearby, ready to provide vacationers with all the necessary range of services. At the service of tourists is the five-star Ayers Rock Resort (Ayers Rock Resort) or the three-star Lost Camel (Lost Camel).

Uluru Rock has been part of the biosphere reserve which is included in the UNESCO heritage list. And ten years later, in 1987, Ayers Rock was officially recognized as a monument of world importance.

Location: Australia
Height: 348 m
Width: about 3 km
Length: 3.6 km
Coordinates: 25°20"40.9"S 131°01"53.9"E

General view of Uluru rock

Uluru is located almost in the very center of the smallest continent and annually attracts the attention of more than half a million tourists every year who want to see the huge stone "elephant" "lying" in the desert with their own eyes. Why an elephant? Yes, because if you look at the photo of the Uluru rocks, taken from a bird's eye view, the rock, which, according to the most conservative estimates, was formed about 700 million years ago, looks like a real elephant. True, not standing and not eating vegetation, but dead in the middle of one of the hottest deserts in the world. The Uluru rock, in addition to being the subject of controversy by many reputable geologists and historians, is fanned by many myths and legends.

As mentioned above, Uluru is located in the desert, but people lived and live near it. The rock paintings of the Uluru rock allow scientists to draw a definite conclusion, the Australian natives lived near this monolith (or maybe not a monolith) 10,000 (!) Years ago. “How can a person survive in a desert where there is practically no vegetation, and the air temperature during the day warms up above 40 degrees Celsius?” Any tourist can ask a question, even on the outskirts of the stone giant. The thing is that near Uluru there is a source from which the purest ice water beats. It is she who helps the Australian Aborigines survive in such extreme conditions.

The “discovered” rock of Uluru in Australia was relatively recently in 1892 by Ernest Giles, who conducted most of his life in travels across the Australian continent. The word "open", of course, has a certain connotation: it was discovered by immigrants from Europe who inhabited Australia. The Australian Aborigines have long known about the rock, which is a little over three and a half kilometers long, a little less than three meters wide and 170 meters high. So long ago that there is nothing about their history on this moment unknown. You can only get an idea of ​​how the tribes lived at the Uluru rock rock paintings. The honor to describe the giant monolith fell to William Christine Gross, who did it already in 1893.

To say with certainty whether the rock of Uluru is a monolith, like, for example, weathering pillars, or whether it is connected underground with the mountain, until not a single scientist decides. More precisely, they decide, however, they have different opinions. One part of the geologists claims that Uluru in Australia is a monolith and does not accept other points of view, while the other part proves that the rock is connected deep underground with a mountain that has a strange name for Australia, Olga. The name is really strange, however, like everything on the smallest mainland. By the way, the mountain began to be called Olga in honor of ... the wife of the Russian Emperor Nicholas the First!

Uluru rock - legends and myths

No matter how much geologists argue about whether Uluru, resembling a lying elephant, is a monolith or, nevertheless, it is associated with Mount Olga, the natives have their own opinion about the appearance of the rock. IN ancient legend, which the Australian Aborigines pass down from generation to generation, it is said that two tribes lived at once near a small rock. One tribe lived on the side of Uluru, which was always lit by the sun, and the other tribe lived in its shadow. Which tribe was more comfortable is a moot point. The first tribe was called Mala, and the second - Kunia. These tribes once decided to invite another tribe, called Windulka, to visit them. In addition to the Mala and Kuniya tribes, lizard women were invited to visit. These beautiful and seductive creatures were part of the Liru tribe. On the way to the Windulka tribe, representatives of the male part of Mala and Kuniya saw female lizards and began to show them signs of attention. What happened along the way, and whether the process of courtship reached its culmination, is not specified, but no one came to the holiday arranged by the Windulka tribe. Either the courtship lasted a long time, or the lizard women nevertheless decided that the men from the Mala and Kuniya tribes were worthy of their attention (in this case it becomes clear why the Winddulka holiday was forgotten), is also not known.

The Windulka tribe wielded great power over the forces of nature, a fact that was overlooked by men who were fascinated by the charming female lizards. The sorcerers from Windulk called for help giant hairless dogs and snakes that lived in large numbers near Mount Olga. Cruel, hungry dogs and poisonous snakes were sent to the Mala and Kuniya tribes. Probably, at that moment, the loving representatives of these tribes greatly regretted their fleeting passion: the legend says that literally in a day Mala and Kuniya were completely exterminated. However, this is not the end of the legend that tells about the rock, but only its beginning. After all the natives from the two tribes died, Uluru rose even stronger from the earth and absorbed the souls of the slain into its caves.

After this tragedy, another legend appeared among the natives that whoever takes with him at least a small pebble from the sacred rock will incur the wrath of the souls enclosed in the rock. Aborigines believe in this myth, but tourists do not. As time has shown, in vain. Australia Post is literally littered with parcels containing a small stone taken by unlucky travelers from Uluru. Everyone who brought home a piece of the monolith knew what a real disaster is. Therefore, in order to get rid of the curse, tourists send their terrible "souvenirs" to their homeland.

Uluru - the origin of the rock - official versions

As mentioned above, the Uluru rock arose about 700-hundred million years ago. Geologists say that the legendary Australian monolith (or not monolith) arose from sedimentary rocks at the bottom of almost dry lake Amadius.

In the middle of the lake formerly towered huge island, which gradually collapsed, and its parts were compressed at the bottom of the once gigantic reservoir. Thus, over a long period of time, the Uluru rock was formed in the very center of the Australian continent.

The opinion, which many consider official and scientifically confirmed, is quite often questioned by modern authoritative experts. To be extremely precise, it is not possible at the moment to say for certain how and as a result of which the Uluru rock was formed. By the way, it is impossible to say why the rock bears such a name. Linguists suggest that the word "Uluru" in some Aboriginal language (In Australia, almost every tribe has its own language) means "mountain".

It is rather difficult to explain the origin of the rock, but how numerous cracks and caves formed on it, in which ancient people probably lived, is as simple as that. By the way, cracks on Uluru continue to appear in our time. This is due to the characteristics of the Australian desert climate. As mentioned above, during the day the temperature in the desert, where the rock is located, exceeds 40 degrees Celsius, but at night real frosts begin in this area: with the onset of darkness, the temperature often drops below zero. In addition, the strongest hurricanes are often observed in the Uluru region and Mount Olga. Such a sharp change in temperature, strong gusts of wind lead to the destruction of the rock and the formation of cracks on it. By the way, the natives fundamentally disagree with a scientific point of view: they argue that the cracks and caves on Uluru appear due to the fact that the souls imprisoned in it are trying to break free.

Uluru rock is one of the main attractions of Australia

As mentioned at the very beginning of the article, almost half a million tourists come to see the Uluru rock every year. They are attracted not only by the amazing shape of the rock, but also by its wall paintings made by ancient people in numerous caves. Despite the fact that the Uluru rock became known in the civilized world as early as 1893, tourists have been drawn to it only since the middle of the 20th century. Only in 1950, the Australian authorities, who decided to actively develop tourism infrastructure in their country, held to mysterious rock road. In fairness, it should be noted that even before the construction of the highway, amateurs thrill accompanied by guides traveled to Uluru. Until 1950, 22 ascents to the sacred rock for the natives were officially registered.

After the opening of the highway to the miracle of nature, a stream of tourists simply poured in: they were not embarrassed by the inconvenience and extreme conditions. The number of people wishing to see how the rock changes its color several times during the day increased every year. By the way, the rock really changes during the day: it all depends on where the sun is at a certain moment. If the luminary is hidden behind the clouds, Uluru appears to the traveler in brown with an orange tint. The orange hue of the rock stands out due to the huge amount of iron oxide contained in its rock.

But as soon as the sun rises from the horizon, Uluru suddenly becomes dark purple. The higher the sun rises, the softer the colors of the Australian rock become. Around 10:30 am Uluru turns purple, then the color becomes more and more saturated, then for a short period of time the “lying elephant” turns red, and at exactly 12:00 the rock turns into a huge piece of “gold”.

In 1985, the rock, which the first European who conquered it called Ayers Rock, was transferred to the private property of the natives of the Anangu tribe living near the sacred Uluru. It was from that year that the name "Ayers Rock" ceased to be used, and in all tourist brochures the miracle rock is listed as Uluru. Aboriginal people got their place of worship back, but survive in modern world You can only if you have money. Animal skins and bone arrowheads are no longer enough, even if your ancestors lived that way. Therefore, the natives decided to earn some money on Uluru: they simply rented it to the Australian authorities for 99 years. During this time the unique australian rock is part of national reserve. For this generosity, the Anangu Aboriginal tribe receives US$75,000 each year. In addition, 20% of the cost of a ticket giving the right to visit Uluru also goes to the tribe's budget. The money for the natives is very decent. And if we also take into account the fact that each representative of the tribe, dressed in National Costume(that is, almost naked), receives several dollars from tourists for a photo next to him, then we can conclude: the Anangu tribe is thriving.