Uluru Kata Tjuta National Park, Australia walls images photographs tourismplacesinworld.blogspot.in

Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park is the location of a world-renowned sandstone monolith, which stands 348 meters in height and bears various inscriptions made by ancestral indigenous peoples, located in Northern Territory of Australia. It is located 1431 kilometres south of Darwin by road and 440 kilometres south-west of Alice Springs along the Stuart and Lasseter Highways. The park covers 2010 square kilometres and includes the features it is named after - Uluru / Ayers Rock and, 40 kilometres to its west, Kata Tjuta / Mount Olga and is serviced by flights from most Australian capital cities. The location is listed with UNESCO World Heritage cites.

Kata Tjuta, sometimes written Tjuṯa (Kata Joota), and also known as Mount Olga (or colloquially as The Olgas), are a group of large domed rock formations or bornhardts located about 365 km (227 mi) southwest of Alice Springs, in the southern part of the Northern Territory, central Australia. Uluru, 25 km (16 mi) to the east, and Kata Tjuta form the two major landmarks within the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park.

The 36 domes that make up Kata Tjuta cover an area of 21.68 km2 (8.37 sq mi), are composed of conglomerate, a sedimentary rock consisting of cobbles and boulders of varying rock types including granite and basalt, cemented by a matrix of sandstone.

The highest point, Mount Olga, is 1,066 m (3,497 ft) above sea level, or approximately 546 m (1,791 ft) above the surrounding plain (198 m (650 ft) higher than Uluru).[1] Kata Tjuta is located at the eastern end of the Docker River Road.

This land was created by our creation ancestors. In their travels they left marks in the land and made laws for us to keep and live by. Generations of Anangu have actively managed this ancient land using traditional practices and knowledge passed down through Tjukurpa - the foundation of all Anangu knowledge. This land continues to hold powerful religious and cultural connections today.

Our land is now world famous for its exceptional natural beauty. The spectacular rock formations and surrounding sand plains provide rare habitats for an incredible variety of plants and animals.

This is a place of remarkable beauty and unique cultural value which has led to the park being recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Area.

We invite you to visit Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park with your hearts and minds open to learn more about our land, beliefs and culture.

The immense rock formation of Uluru and rock domes of Kata Tjuta are remarkable geological and landform features set on a sand plain. They have special significance to the Anangu people as their Tjurkurpa (traditional law).

Uluru is a huge, rounded, red sandstone monolith 9.4 kilometres in circumference rising to over 340 metres above the plain. Rock art in the caves around its base are further evidence of the enduring cultural traditions of Anangu.

About 32 kilometres to the west of Uluru lie the 36 steep-sided domes of Kata Tjuta. The domes cover an area of 3500 hectares with Mount Olga, the highest feature, rising to a height of 500 metres. This area is sacred under Anangu men's law and, as such, detailed knowledge of it is restricted.

The first European to sight Uluru was the explorer William Gosse in 1873 who named it Ayers Rock. The year before, Ernest Giles had named Kata Tjuta the Olgas, after Queen Olga of Wertemberg.

Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park was inscribed on the World Heritage List in two stages, initially for its outstanding universal natural values in 1987 and then for its outstanding universal cultural values in 1994.

Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park was one of 15 World Heritage places included in the National Heritage List on 21 May 2007.