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35-422: The 36 domes that make up Kata Tjuṯa / Mount Olga cover an area of 21.68 km (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 coarse sandstone . The highest dome, Mount Olga , is 1,066 m (3,497 ft) above sea level, or approximately 546 m (1,791 ft) above

70-528: A chemical composition similar to granite. Scientists using Rubidium-strontium dating techniques to date the rock accurately have given it an age of 600 million years, matching the date of the Woodroffe Thrust event. The actual fresh rock that makes up the Kata Tjuṯa / Olgas and Uluṟu / Ayers Rock is medium to dark grey with green or pink hues in some laminae . The bright orange-red hue, for which

105-522: A cobble conglomerate. Conglomerates are deposited in a variety of sedimentary environments . In turbidites , the basal part of a bed is typically coarse-grained and sometimes conglomeratic. In this setting, conglomerates are normally very well sorted, well-rounded and often with a strong A-axis type imbrication of the clasts. Conglomerates are normally present at the base of sequences laid down during marine transgressions above an unconformity , and are known as basal conglomerates . They represent

140-560: A conglomerate are in contact with each other, it is called an orthoconglomerate. Unlike paraconglomerates, orthoconglomerates are typically cross-bedded and often well-cemented and lithified by either calcite , hematite , quartz , or clay. The differences between paraconglomerates and orthoconglomerates reflect differences in how they are deposited. Paraconglomerates are commonly either glacial tills or debris flow deposits. Orthoconglomerates are typically associated with aqueous currents. Conglomerates are also classified according to

175-419: A mixture composed of varying amounts of silt, sand, and clay, known as matrix . If the individual gravel clasts in a conglomerate are separated from each other by an abundance of matrix such that they are not in contact with each other and float within the matrix, it is called a paraconglomerate. Paraconglomerates are also often unstratified and can contain more matrix than gravel clasts. If the gravel clasts of

210-407: A mixture of rounded and angular gravel clasts are sometimes called breccio-conglomerate. Conglomerates contain at least 30% of rounded to subangular clasts larger than 2 mm (0.079 in) in diameter, e.g., granules , pebbles , cobbles , and boulders . However, conglomerates are rarely composed entirely of gravel-size clasts. Typically, the space between the gravel-size clasts is filled by

245-776: A request from the Regional Tourism Association, the order of the dual names was officially reversed, to Kata Tjuṯa / Mount Olga . The region surrounding Kata Tjuṯa 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

280-479: A reservation of 104 km (40 sq mi) of land beyond the national park's northern boundary, 15 km (9.3 mi) from Uluru, was approved for the development of a tourist facility, to be known as Yulara , along with a new airport. The new facilities became fully operational in late 1984. On 6 August 2000, an Ansett Australia Airbus A320 arrived from Auckland Airport in New Zealand, carrying

315-415: A shoreline. Finally, conglomerates are often differentiated and named according to the dominant clast size comprising them. In this classification, a conglomerate composed largely of granule-size clasts would be called a granule conglomerate; a conglomerate composed largely of pebble-size clasts would be called a pebble conglomerate; and a conglomerate composed largely of cobble-size clasts would be called

350-464: A sunrise and sunset viewing area, which are accessible via a short walk from Kata Tjuṯa Road. There are also two walks that enter the domes of Kata Tjuta: Conglomerate (geology) Conglomerate ( / k ən ˈ ɡ l ɒ m ər ɪ t / ) is a sedimentary rock made up of rounded gravel -sized pieces of rock surrounded by finer-grained sediments (such as sand , silt , or clay ). The larger fragments within conglomerate are called clasts, while

385-444: Is a conglomerate that is composed largely of clasts of rounded mud chips and pebbles held together by clay minerals and created by erosion within environments such as within a river channel or along a lake margin. Flat-pebble conglomerates (edgewise conglomerates) are conglomerates that consist of relatively flat clasts of lime mud created by either storms or tsunami eroding a shallow sea bottom or tidal currents eroding tidal flats along

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420-571: Is often called a fanglomerate . Glaciers carry a lot of coarse-grained material and many glacial deposits are conglomeratic. tillites , the sediments deposited directly by a glacier, are typically poorly sorted, matrix-supported conglomerates. The matrix is generally fine-grained, consisting of finely milled rock fragments. Waterlaid deposits associated with glaciers are often conglomeratic, forming structures such as eskers . An example of conglomerate can be seen at Montserrat , near Barcelona . Here, erosion has created vertical channels that give

455-717: The Olympic Torch for its inaugural Australian leg ahead of the Sydney Olympic Games . From there, the torch was taken for a run around Uluru / Ayers Rock, followed by a formal reception. In March 2010, Virgin Australia (at the time Virgin Blue) announced that the airline would start flying to Uluru / Ayers Rock. Flights later commenced from Sydney in August 2010 which also marked the airline's first flight into

490-564: The Dreaming, and since 1995 the site is being used once again for cultural ceremonies. Kata Tjuṯa / Mount Olga can be reached via Ayers Rock Airport , followed by a 55-kilometre (34 mi) drive south, then west. Visitors are required to pay an entry fee. Kata Tjuṯa is about 495 kilometres (308 mi) by road from Alice Springs, via the Stuart and Lasseter highways. It is a 4 + 1 ⁄ 2 hour drive. Kata Tjuṯa / Mount Olga has both

525-458: The airline will resume its Sydney flights for the first time since April 2013 in March 2022. QantasLink also has flights from Cairns Airport and Alice Springs Airport . Ayers Rock Airport has one main terminal for scheduled flights. The runway is 2,599 m × 30 m (8,527 ft × 98 ft). It has a simple, single stage lighting system and PAPI . The largest aircraft serving

560-840: The characteristic jagged shapes the mountain is named for (Montserrat literally means "jagged mountain"). The rock is strong enough to use as a building material, as in the Santa Maria de Montserrat Abbey . Another example, the Crestone Conglomerate , occurs in and near the town of Crestone , at the foot of the Sangre de Cristo Range in Colorado 's San Luis Valley . The Crestone Conglomerate consists of poorly sorted fanglomerates that accumulated in prehistoric alluvial fans and related fluvial systems. Some of these rocks have hues of red and green. Conglomerate cliffs are found on

595-416: The clasts of metastable and unstable rocks and minerals, it is called either a petromict or petromictic conglomerate. In addition, conglomerates are classified by source as indicated by the lithology of the gravel-size clasts If these clasts consist of rocks and minerals that are significantly different in lithology from the enclosing matrix and, thus, older and derived from outside the basin of deposition,

630-424: The composition of their clasts. A conglomerate or any clastic sedimentary rock that consists of a single rock or mineral is known as either a monomict, monomictic, oligomict, or oligomictic conglomerate. If the conglomerate consists of two or more different types of rocks, minerals, or combination of both, it is known as either a polymict or polymictic conglomerate. If a polymictic conglomerate contains an assortment of

665-469: The conglomerate is known as an extraformational conglomerate. If these clasts consist of rocks and minerals that are identical to or consistent with the lithology of the enclosing matrix and, thus, penecontemporaneous and derived from within the basin of deposition, the conglomerate is known as an intraformational conglomerate. Two recognized types of intraformational conglomerates are shale-pebble and flat-pebble conglomerates. A shale-pebble conglomerate

700-671: The domed hills of Kata Tjuta , in Australia's Northern Territory or in the Buda Hills in Hungary. In the nineteenth century a thick layer of Pottsville conglomerate was recognized to underlie anthracite coal measures in Pennsylvania. On Mars , slabs of conglomerate have been found at an outcrop named " Hottah ", and have been interpreted by scientists as having formed in an ancient streambed. The gravels, which were discovered by NASA 's Mars rover Curiosity , range from

735-611: The east coast of Scotland from Arbroath northwards along the coastlines of the former counties of Angus and Kincardineshire . Dunnottar Castle sits on a rugged promontory of conglomerate jutting into the North Sea just south of the town of Stonehaven . Copper Harbor Conglomerate is found both in the Keweenaw Peninsula and Isle Royale National Park in Lake Superior . Conglomerate may also be seen in

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770-510: The finer sediment surrounding the clasts is called the matrix. The clasts and matrix are typically cemented by calcium carbonate , iron oxide , silica , or hardened clay. Conglomerates form when rounded gravels deposited by water or glaciers become solidified and cemented by pressure over time . They can be found in sedimentary rock sequences of all ages but probably make up less than 1 percent by weight of all sedimentary rocks. They are closely related to sandstones in origin, and exhibit many of

805-669: The formation resulted in a molasse facies, or deposition in front of rising mountains, in this case, the Petermann Orogeny, creating the deposit known as the Mount Currie Conglomerate. The Mount Currie Conglomerate is made predominantly of basalt , porphyry , granite , gneiss and volcanic rock fragments with a matrix composed of angular quartz , microcline and orthoclase among other minerals. Both Uluṟu and Kata Tjuṯa are made of sediment originating in this Mount Currie Conglomerate and both have

840-416: The position of the shoreline at a particular time and are diachronous . Conglomerates deposited in fluvial environments are typically well rounded and poorly sorted. Clasts of this size are carried as bedload and only at times of high flow-rate. The maximum clast size decreases as the clasts are transported further due to attrition , so conglomerates are more characteristic of immature river systems. In

875-472: The previous year by, among other things, naming Mueller a Freiherr (baron), making him Ferdinand von Mueller. The naming was his way of repaying the compliment. On 15 December 1993, a dual naming policy was adopted that allowed official names consisting of both the traditional Aboriginal name and the English name. As a result, Mount Olga was renamed Mount Olga / Kata Tjuṯa . On 6 November 2002, following

910-994: The red centre operated by Embraer E-190s. In September 2020 Virgin Australia revealed it had dropped seven regional destinations with one of them being Uluru / Ayers Rock. On 6 June 2024 Virgin Australia restarted service from Melbourne. On 7 June 2024 Virgin Australia restarted service from Brisbane. In February 2013, Qantas announced that Jetstar would take over Qantas mainline's Sydney service in April 2013. Jetstar later launched flights from Melbourne Airport in June 2014 and Brisbane Airport in August 2018. Qantas announced in November 2018 that Qantas mainline would return in April 2019 along with 2 news routes from Adelaide Airport and Darwin Airport ; these flights haven't returned after being put on hold in 2020. In May 2021 Qantas revealed that

945-505: The same types of sedimentary structures , such as tabular and trough cross-bedding and graded bedding . Fanglomerates are poorly sorted, matrix-rich conglomerates that originated as debris flows on alluvial fans and likely contain the largest accumulations of gravel in the geologic record. Breccias are similar to conglomerates, but have clasts that have angular (rather than rounded) shapes. Conglomerates may be named and classified by the: The classification method depends on

980-446: The sediments deposited by mature rivers, conglomerates are generally confined to the basal part of a channel fill where they are known as pebble lags . Conglomerates deposited in a fluvial environment often have an AB-plane type imbrication. Alluvial deposits form in areas of high relief and are typically coarse-grained. At mountain fronts individual alluvial fans merge to form braidplains and these two environments are associated with

1015-674: The size of sand particles to the size of golf balls. Analysis has shown that the pebbles were deposited by a stream that flowed at walking pace and was ankle- to hip-deep. Metamorphic alteration transforms conglomerate into metaconglomerate . Ayers Rock Airport Ayers Rock Airport (also known as Connellan Airport ) ( IATA : AYQ , ICAO : YAYE ) is situated near Yulara , around 463 km (288 mi) (5 hrs drive) away from Alice Springs , Northern Territory , and 20 minutes drive from Uluru / Ayers Rock itself. An average of just under 300,000 passengers pass through this airport each year. The original Connellan Airport at Uluru

1050-407: The structures are noted, is due to a patina over finely divided feldspar coated in iron oxide. There are many Pitjantjatjara Dreamtime legends associated with this place and indeed everything in the vicinity including Uluṟu / Ayers Rock. A number of legends surround the great snake king Wanambi, who is said to live on the summit of Kata Tjuṯa and only comes down during the dry season. His breath

1085-745: The surrounding plain (198 m (650 ft) higher than Uluṟu). Kata Tjuṯa is located at the eastern end of the Docker River Road. Kata Tjuta , in the Pitjantjatjara dialect , is the traditional Aboriginal name for the formation. The alternative name, The Olgas , comes from the tallest peak, Mount Olga. At the behest of Baron Ferdinand von Mueller , Mount Olga was named in 1872 by Ernest Giles , in honour of Queen Olga of Württemberg (born Grand Duchess Olga of Russia, daughter of Tsar Nicholas I ). She and her husband, King Charles I of Württemberg , had marked their 25th wedding anniversary

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1120-408: The thickest deposits of conglomerates. The bulk of conglomerates deposited in this setting are clast-supported with a strong AB-plane imbrication . Matrix-supported conglomerates, as a result of debris-flow deposition, are quite commonly associated with many alluvial fans. When such conglomerates accumulate within an alluvial fan, in rapidly eroding (e.g., desert ) environments, the resulting rock unit

1155-501: The type and detail of research being conducted. A sedimentary rock composed largely of gravel is first named according to the roundness of the gravel. If the gravel clasts that comprise it are largely well-rounded to subrounded, it is a conglomerate. If the gravel clasts that comprise it are largely angular, it is a breccia . Such breccias can be called sedimentary breccias to differentiate them from other types of breccia, e.g. volcanic and fault breccias. Sedimentary rocks that contain

1190-417: Was provided by Edward Connellan , who founded Connellan Airways in 1942. The development of tourism infrastructure adjacent to the base of Uluru / Ayers Rock that began in the 1950s soon created adverse environmental impacts. It was decided in the early 1970s to remove all accommodation-related tourist facilities from near the base of Uluru / Ayers Rock and re-establish them outside the national park. In 1975,

1225-419: Was said to be able to transform a breeze into a hurricane in order to punish those who did evil deeds. The majority of mythology surrounding the site is not disclosed to outsiders, and in particular, women. As is the custom, should women become privy to the "men's business", they are susceptible to violent attacks, even death. The Anangu people believe the great rocks of Kata Tjuṯa are homes to spirit energy from

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