View looking towards Uluru, in the Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park, Northern Territory, Australia
Kata Tjuṯa, (Pitjantjatjara: Kata Tjuṯa, lit. 'many heads'; Aboriginal pronunciation: [kɐtɐ cʊʈɐ]), also known as the Olgas, is 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, also known as Ayers Rock, located 25 km (16 mi) to the east, and Kata Tjuta form the two major landmarks within the Uluru-Kata Tjuṯa National Park. The park is considered sacred to the Aboriginal people of Australia.:884 The 36 domes that make up Kata Tjuṯa cover an area of km2 ( 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 dome, 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). Kata Tjuta is located at the eastern end of the Docker River Road. The region surrounding Kata Tjuṯa / Mount Olga lies in the Amadeus Basin, an intracratonic basin formed during the Adelaidian, roughly 850-800 million years ago. During the Petermann Orogeny, approximately 550 million years ago, an event known as the Woodroffe Thrust lifted granulite facies rocks northward over low-grade metamorphic rocks. The eventual erosion of the formation resulted in a molasse facies, or deposition in front of rising mountains, in this case the Petermann Orogeny, to create the deposit known as the Mount Currie Conglomerate. The Mount Currie Conglomerate is made predominately of basalt, porphyry, granite, gneiss and volcanic rock fragments with a matrix composed of angular quartz, microcline and orthoclase among other minerals. Both Uluru / Ayers Rock and the Kata Tjuṯa / Mount Olga are made of sediment originating in this Mount Currie Conglomerate and both have a chemical composition similar to granite.
Size: 5501px × 3645px
Location: Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, Lasseter Hwy, Uluru NT, Australia
Photo credit: © John Gaffen / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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