|
Test your knowledge with these modern "explorers" as they roam the world??'s great places unearthing curious facts and cultural gems. Arranged in the time-honored A to Z manner so loved by these two scholars, their explorations range over more than 300: ?? Biblical Sites??Defunct Cities, Nations, and Empires??Famous Historic Sites??????Medieval to Modern??Famous Sites from the Distant Past??Places with Odd Names??Locations Celebrated in Movies and Songs??Locations Celebrated in Fiction and Poetry??Mythical Places??Places Famous for What Happens There??Extraordinary Natural Landmarks??Extraordinary Manmade ObjectsWhere in the world is AYERS ROCK OR ULURU? A large red sandstone formation, five miles around, Ayers Rock??'s curious bulk, like an overturned tanker, rises 1,143 feet above the desert terrain. It is known as Uluru or Ayers Rock and is located about 280 miles southwest of Alice Springs, Australia. The formation is neither the world??'s largest monolith nor even Australia??'s largest rocksited on a flat plain (that honor belongs to Mount Augustus in Western Australia). Uluru is part of an even larger underground formation that includes the sandstone knobs called Kata Tjuta (many heads) or The Olgas.For thousands of years, the Anagu Aborigines have visited this unusual site, and presently oversee its use, asking people not to climb on the rock, but not specifically denying visitors from making the hour-long trek to the top. Instead, tourists are encouraged to circumnavigate the base of the rock with an Anagu guide. Many of thewaterholes, rock formations, caves, hills, and gorges in the region, including Uluru, are regarded as Iwara (sacred) by the Anagu. An enlightened policy ofownership, adopted in 1979, recognizes the communal land ownership system of the Anangu in the region. However, two years earlier, the three hundred thirty thousand-acre sitesurrounding Uluru was designated to be the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park. Further legislation transferred the parkland back to Anangu ownership. Thus, today, the park is leased to Parks Australia, which is managed jointly by park personnel and the Anangu. In 1995, the name of the park, once Ayers Rock-Mount Olga, was changed to Uluru-Kata Tjuta.
|
|