Mount Augustus National Park
Encyclopedia
Mount Augustus National Park is located 852 km north of Perth
, 490 km by road east of Carnarvon
and 390 km northwest of Meekatharra
, in the Gascoyne region
of Western Australia
. Mount Augustus itself, the feature around which the national park
is based, is known as Burringurrah to the local Wadjari Aboriginal people.
is an inselberg that stands 1106 m above sea level
, or approximately 860 m above the surrounding plain, and covers an area of 4,795 ha. It has a central ridge which is almost 8 km long. Mount Augustus is widely claimed in tourist promotional and information literature as the “world's largest monolith”, but the claim does not originate from the geological literature, nor is substantiated by any other scholarly research.
Mt. Augustus is more than twice the size of Uluru
. Unlike Uluru, which is a monolith
and, in general, devoid of plant growth, Mt. Augustus is a monocline
(an asymmetrical anticline, source W.A. Department of Environment and Conservation) and has plant growth on it. The climb to the summit can take up to 5 hours (return) and there are two trails (one class 4 and the other a class 5) to get there. There are a number of walking tracks to explore.
There is a caravan park at nearby Mt. Augustus Station, which also has "Donga" style accommodation and a restaurant which is open in peak tourist season.
and conglomerate
, a formation known to geologists as the Mount Augustus Sandstone, which overlies older granite
near its northern end. The Mount Augustus Sandstone was deposited by ancient river systems and is somewhat younger than the 1.64 billion year old granite beneath. The originally horizontal sediments have been folded into an asymmetric anticline
by later tectonic movements.
reached the summit on 3 June 1858 during his epic 107-day journey through the Gascoyne region, becoming the first recorded Europe
an to climb the mountain
. Some weeks later he named the peak after his brother, Sir Augustus Charles Gregory (1819–1905). At the time Augustus was on his last expedition, an unsuccessful foray into western Queensland
in an attempt to discover the whereabouts of Ludwig Leichhardt
.
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
, 490 km by road east of Carnarvon
Carnarvon, Western Australia
Carnarvon is a coastal town situated approximately 900 kilometres north of Perth, Western Australia. It lies at the mouth of the Gascoyne River on the Indian Ocean. The popular Shark Bay world heritage area lies to the south of the town and the Ningaloo Reef lies to the north...
and 390 km northwest of Meekatharra
Meekatharra, Western Australia
Meekatharra is a town in the Mid West region of Western Australia. Meekatharra is an Australian Aboriginal word meaning 'place of little water'. At the 2006 census, Meekatharra had a population of 798, with 44.0% being Aboriginal....
, in the Gascoyne region
Gascoyne
Gascoyne is the name of a number of places, including:* Gascoyne , a region which contains** the town of Gascoyne Junction, Western Australia** the Gascoyne River** the Shire of Upper Gascoyne* Gascoyne, North Dakota, a town...
of Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
. Mount Augustus itself, the feature around which the national park
National park
A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual nations designate their own national parks differently A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or...
is based, is known as Burringurrah to the local Wadjari Aboriginal people.
Mount Augustus
Mount AugustusMount Augustus
Mount Augustus may refer to:*Mount Augustus National Park, Australia*Mount Augustus, New Zealand...
is an inselberg that stands 1106 m above sea level
Sea level
Mean sea level is a measure of the average height of the ocean's surface ; used as a standard in reckoning land elevation...
, or approximately 860 m above the surrounding plain, and covers an area of 4,795 ha. It has a central ridge which is almost 8 km long. Mount Augustus is widely claimed in tourist promotional and information literature as the “world's largest monolith”, but the claim does not originate from the geological literature, nor is substantiated by any other scholarly research.
Mt. Augustus is more than twice the size of Uluru
Uluru
Uluru , also known as Ayers Rock, is a large sandstone rock formation in the southern part of the Northern Territory, central Australia. It lies south west of the nearest large town, Alice Springs; by road. Kata Tjuta and Uluru are the two major features of the Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park....
. Unlike Uluru, which is a monolith
Monolith
A monolith is a geological feature such as a mountain, consisting of a single massive stone or rock, or a single piece of rock placed as, or within, a monument...
and, in general, devoid of plant growth, Mt. Augustus is a monocline
Monocline
A monocline is a step-like fold in rock strata consisting of a zone of steeper dip within an otherwise horizontal or gently-dipping sequence.-Formation:Monoclines may be formed in several different ways...
(an asymmetrical anticline, source W.A. Department of Environment and Conservation) and has plant growth on it. The climb to the summit can take up to 5 hours (return) and there are two trails (one class 4 and the other a class 5) to get there. There are a number of walking tracks to explore.
There is a caravan park at nearby Mt. Augustus Station, which also has "Donga" style accommodation and a restaurant which is open in peak tourist season.
Geology
Mount Augustus is composed of sandstoneSandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
and conglomerate
Conglomerate (geology)
A conglomerate is a rock consisting of individual clasts within a finer-grained matrix that have become cemented together. Conglomerates are sedimentary rocks consisting of rounded fragments and are thus differentiated from breccias, which consist of angular clasts...
, a formation known to geologists as the Mount Augustus Sandstone, which overlies older granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
near its northern end. The Mount Augustus Sandstone was deposited by ancient river systems and is somewhat younger than the 1.64 billion year old granite beneath. The originally horizontal sediments have been folded into an asymmetric anticline
Anticline
In structural geology, an anticline is a fold that is convex up and has its oldest beds at its core. The term is not to be confused with antiform, which is a purely descriptive term for any fold that is convex up. Therefore if age relationships In structural geology, an anticline is a fold that is...
by later tectonic movements.
European history
Francis Thomas GregoryFrancis Thomas Gregory
Francis Thomas Gregory was an English-born Australian explorer and politician.-Biography:Gregory was born at Farnsfield, Nottinghamshire, England, and was the younger brother of the explorer Augustus Gregory...
reached the summit on 3 June 1858 during his epic 107-day journey through the Gascoyne region, becoming the first recorded Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an to climb the mountain
Mountain
Image:Himalaya_annotated.jpg|thumb|right|The Himalayan mountain range with Mount Everestrect 58 14 160 49 Chomo Lonzorect 200 28 335 52 Makalurect 378 24 566 45 Mount Everestrect 188 581 920 656 Tibetan Plateaurect 250 406 340 427 Rong River...
. Some weeks later he named the peak after his brother, Sir Augustus Charles Gregory (1819–1905). At the time Augustus was on his last expedition, an unsuccessful foray into western Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
in an attempt to discover the whereabouts of Ludwig Leichhardt
Ludwig Leichhardt
Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig Leichhardt, known as Ludwig Leichhardt, was a Prussian explorer and naturalist, most famous for his exploration of northern and central Australia.-Early life:...
.