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Destinations > Burringurrah
Burringurrah
Issue: March 2001
Words and photos by Andrew Gregory
Australia's Outback is a diverse and colourful place, with many areas still waiting to be discovered by the modern day traveller. One of the features of the Outback is Australia's collection of huge rocks, made famous by the likes of the iconic Uluru.
As an ancient continent, Australia is full of beautiful rock formations. Clumps of strange shapes jut out dramatically from flat plains such as the Devil's Marbles in the Northern Territory, while other formations are simply bizarre, like Wave Rock in Western Australia. Some of these rocks have drawn humans to them like magnets for past cultures and tourists alike, while some remain relatively anonymous in the scrubland.
One such relative unknown is Mt Augustus, which is the largest rock in the world at twice the size of Uluru. It was discovered by Francis Gregory in 1858, and named after his brother Augustus. Technically Mt Augustus is a monocline, while Uluru is a monolith. The difference between a monolith and monocline is quite simple to explain, a monolith being a single block of stone while a monocline is an exposed bend in an existing rock strata. Either way, Uluru and Mt Augustus a clearly two of Australia's most impressive natural monuments.
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Mt Augustus towers 858m above the surrounding stony plain and 1105m above sea level, and is visible from over 100km away. It is eight kilometres long and three kilometres wide, occupying the lion's share of the 9168 hectare National Park set up in 1989 to protect it. It is estimated that this unique rocky feature has so far survived 1750 million years.
The rock was formed in the Upper Proterozoic age, when the entire region was actually the floor of the ocean. Boulders and sand were deposited on the sea floor, eventually consolidating to form sandstone and conglomerate strata which folded with the movement of the earth's tectonic plates.
Mt Augustus is 490km east of the Western Australian town of Carnarvon, which in turn is 900km from Perth. Most visitors to the region around Mt Augustus drive in through Gascoyne Junction, where the Gascoyne and Lyons Rivers meet. The road in is mostly gravel, and the combination pub and general store is a welcome sight once you arrive.
Approaching the rock, its presence is overwhelming and what it lacks in symmetry it makes up for in sheer size. The camping area is very close to the rock and it takes a bit getting used to having a giant constantly looking over your shoulder. The Mount Augustus Outback Tourist Resort (which is a modest caravan park with unit accommodation and a camping ground) is owned by Peter Vogelsanger who says that the number of visitors to the rock is growing every year. However, access to the area is difficult and rain can sometimes close the roads during the peak tourist season.
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Words and photos by Andrew Gregory
Australia's Outback is a diverse and colourful place, with many areas still waiting to be discovered by the modern day traveller. One of the features of the Outback is Australia's collection of huge rocks, made famous by the likes of the iconic Uluru.
As an ancient continent, Australia is full of beautiful rock formations. Clumps of strange shapes jut out dramatically from flat plains such as the Devil's Marbles in the Northern Territory, while other formations are simply bizarre, like Wave Rock in Western Australia. Some of these rocks have drawn humans to them like magnets for past cultures and tourists alike, while some remain relatively anonymous in the scrubland.
One such relative unknown is Mt Augustus, which is the largest rock in the world at twice the size of Uluru. It was discovered by Francis Gregory in 1858, and named after his brother Augustus. Technically Mt Augustus is a monocline, while Uluru is a monolith. The difference between a monolith and monocline is quite simple to explain, a monolith being a single block of stone while a monocline is an exposed bend in an existing rock strata. Either way, Uluru and Mt Augustus a clearly two of Australia's most impressive natural monuments.
read on below advertisement
Mt Augustus towers 858m above the surrounding stony plain and 1105m above sea level, and is visible from over 100km away. It is eight kilometres long and three kilometres wide, occupying the lion's share of the 9168 hectare National Park set up in 1989 to protect it. It is estimated that this unique rocky feature has so far survived 1750 million years.
The rock was formed in the Upper Proterozoic age, when the entire region was actually the floor of the ocean. Boulders and sand were deposited on the sea floor, eventually consolidating to form sandstone and conglomerate strata which folded with the movement of the earth's tectonic plates.
Mt Augustus is 490km east of the Western Australian town of Carnarvon, which in turn is 900km from Perth. Most visitors to the region around Mt Augustus drive in through Gascoyne Junction, where the Gascoyne and Lyons Rivers meet. The road in is mostly gravel, and the combination pub and general store is a welcome sight once you arrive.
Approaching the rock, its presence is overwhelming and what it lacks in symmetry it makes up for in sheer size. The camping area is very close to the rock and it takes a bit getting used to having a giant constantly looking over your shoulder. The Mount Augustus Outback Tourist Resort (which is a modest caravan park with unit accommodation and a camping ground) is owned by Peter Vogelsanger who says that the number of visitors to the rock is growing every year. However, access to the area is difficult and rain can sometimes close the roads during the peak tourist season.
next page »
