How was Ayers Rock made?

Of all the Australian landmarks theres one that captures the imagination more than the rest: Ayers Rock. More accurately named as Uluru, the rock attracts tens of thousands each year. If youre leaving budget accommodation in Sydney to head there, its worth finding out more before you set off. The Anangu people who lived on this land have their own theories of how the rock was formed, but from the scientific side, heres what is known about how it was formed and its history. The fan shapes on the rock (one is smooth, the other has deep ridges) were formed from 550 million years ago by rainwater as it ran down eroded sand and rock. At one time the area was completely covered by the sea. What happened then is sand and mud fell to the bottom covering the fans; the rocky fan became conglomerate rock, the smooth one turned to sandstone. Huge geological forces turned the fans so that the smooth ones sat almost on their side. And since then much of the soft rock has been eroded - what we see when we look at Uluru now is the remains of the sand fan and is made of whats known as Arkose. And where you see the distinctive lines over the rock (these are known as ribs) this is where some layers of Akrose are softer and has eroded faster. Interestingly, Uluru is 863 metres tall, but its thought the rock extends some 5- 6 kilometres beneath the surface. So why is the rock red? At a distance the rock looks red, but get closer enough and youll spot that its actually made up of red flakes with grey patches. The distinctive red colour is from the iron in the rock and it rusting over time, the grey is the arkose, when the rocks have decayed by a mixture of water and oxygen. How to get there? You can fly direct to Ayers Rock (Uluru) from Sydney which is served by Conellan Airport, or brave it and put it on the road trip route drive there yourself.

Ulu
u and Kata Tju
a are amongst some of the oldest landforms on Earth, with the rocks having been dated at around 540 to 550 million years old. The stark outcrops we now see began to stand out as features in the landscape about 100 million years ago, Dr Pigram said. Geologically speaking Ulu
u is the exposed tip of a huge vertical body of rock, otherwise known as an inselberg, which literally means Island Mountain or monolith. This rock extends far below the surrounding plain for between three and five kilometres. If you would like to know more about Budget Hostel Sydney, Budget Accommodation Sydney or Hostel Sydney please visit funk house at http://www.funkhouse.com.au