Uluru Twice More

[Mike Lewis]

Standing at a straight-line distance of ~2.8 km (1.75 miles) away, Uluru is still a truly magnificent sight in the setting sun. It dominates the terrain for miles around, jutting up abruptly out of an otherwise completely flat looking landscape, with only the more distant Kata Tjuta rock formation barely breaking the horizon another 20 km (12.5 miles) or so farther away.

You can tell it is big, but it is only when your view moves in closer and you see the scale of the trees against the side of it that you truly appreciate the size of this rock. This shot taken from the same location with a telephoto lens (223mm focal length) starts to give you some idea of the true scale of Uluru:

It stands at a height of 348 meters (1142 feet), and the above ground portion has a circumference of about 9.4 km (5.8 miles). Although not able to be measured directly, it is estimated that as much as 2.5 km of mass is buried underground, approximately 7 times the bulk that is visible above ground. An iceberg on land, technically referred to as an 'inselberg'. The rock is left over from the erosion of an inland sea in the area ~500 million years ago, which also created the Kata Tjuta rock outcropping.

Comments and critiques welcome, and there will be a test

ML

 

[AlanLichty]

It almost looks like the tip of a red iceberg as an island in a sea of younger terrain. Quite fascinating.

Do you know if anyone has done any seismic profiling of the underlying geology of this outcrop?

 

[ProCaliberTraveler]

This is a bucket list place for me. I fantasize about renting a motorcycle in Adelaide and riding thousands of miles to this park. Do you think photos do it justice?

 

[MonikaC]

Your 2nd shot really shows the scale! Thanks for the background info.

 

[Kurt Harrigan]

Looks like a tough subject and you did it justice. How close can you get to the formation itself?

 

[JimFox]

Very cool Mike! That really shows it off well.

 

[Mike Lewis]

This is a bucket list place for me. I fantasize about renting a motorcycle in Adelaide and riding thousands of miles to this park. Do you think photos do it justice?

Photos of it are cool - but as you probably suspect, it is impossible to get the true feeling of being there and to appreciate how large and isolated it is. especially once you get close up to it the scale of it is awe inspiring. I would definitely visit, although I would say a motorcycle ride across hundreds of kilometers of desert to get here would have to be very carefully planned and would not be without risk.

ML

 

[Mike Lewis]

Looks like a tough subject and you did it justice. How close can you get to the formation itself?

You can walk around it, with parts of the trail being essentially right next to it. In the past you could climb on it, but that opportunity was abused and thankfully they eventually outlawed and climbing on it to protect it and for the safety of the would be climbers. It is now administered by the indigenous people who live in the region and from what I can see that has been a very good thing. There are portions that are considered to be very special and they ask you to not take any photographs in those areas. I had no issue with that and there is still plenty of the trail (most of the trail actually) that is unrestricted.

An amazing location that definitely did not disappoint.

ML

 

[Mike Lewis]

It almost looks like the tip of a red iceberg as an island in a sea of younger terrain. Quite fascinating.

Do you know if anyone has done any seismic profiling of the underlying geology of this outcrop?

Alan,

Not sure what scientific measurements have gone into trying to assess the scope of what is hidden underground, but in my research it seemed to be rather well accepted that there is a huge mass of the rock that is now covered over and essentially underground. The above ground portion would be the part that resisted the erosion of the inland ocean, with the other portions slowly becoming covered over with silt and other sources of material. Interestingly, while Uluru is I think predominantly Sandstone, the other huge outcropping of Kata Tjuta which is about 20 km distant is made up of a conglomerate of Granite and Basalt. I'll post an image of that soon.

ML