Sitting in front of the television watching the Royal couple check out Uluru in the centre of Australia I suddenly came to discover that this giant rock is not the largest rock in Australia.
Uluru is The largest monolith in the world is commonly thought to be Uluru, or Ayers Rock. However, Uluru is only the world’s second-largest free-standing single, large rock. Its circumference is just over 9km, and it rises 349 metres above the surrounding plain. Only one-seventh of the rock is visible above the ground. The rest lies beneath the ground. It is located in Kata Tjuta National Park 450 km southwest of Alice Springs.
The largest rock in the whole world is Mt Augustus (Burringurrah, as it is known by Wajarri Yamatji traditional owners), in Western Australia, located inland, east of Carnarvon, and about 850km north of Perth. It is more than twice the size of Ayers Rock. It rises 717 metres above the stony desert, and extends for a length of 8km – almost the entire circumference of Uluru. (Some sources say Mt Augustus is 858m in height, but Western Australia’s Department of Conservation and Land Management states 717m.) It does not attract the same tourist numbers because it contrasts less dramatically with its surroundings, and does not have the colour changes that Ayers Rock displays during the days and seasons.
There is some dispute as to whether Mt Augustus is a monolith or a monocline. A monocline is an exposed slab of rock which belongs to the layer of rock underneath. However, technicalities aside, it would seem that both Mt Augustus and Ayers Rock have a claim for the title of the world’s largest rock.
