Mt. Augustus, the worlds 39th largest rock, sits in the outback of Western
Australia east of Carnarvon. The rock of the mountain is estimated to
be 1 billion years old, sitting on a granite rock said to be 1.65 billion
years old.
Mt. Augustus is approximately two and a half times the size of Uluru,
It rises to a height of 717 meters. Its central ridge is around 8
kilometres long. It covers an area of some 11,860 acres,
Mt. Augustus and Uluru differ on account of a few technicalities.
Uluru is a rock monolith consisting of a single rock while Mt.
Augustus is a monocline formed by a geological linear, strata dip in
one direction between horizontal layers on each side.
Uluru is thus the largest rock monolith in the world and Mt. Augustus
is the worlds 39th largest overall.
Mt. Augustus was named in honour of Sir Charles Gregory, brother of
the explorer Francis Gregory who was the first to climb the mountain
during an epic 107-day journey through the Gascoyne region of
Western Australia.
The mountain is referred to as Burringurrah by local Wadjari
Aboriginal people and is well respected.
