Discover the Northern Territory of Australia and Explore the Geodiversity of Uluru
- Jan 22, 2025
- 4 min read
Updated: Dec 30, 2025
Uluru is one of Earth’s most iconic geological landmarks, rising dramatically from the arid heart of Australia’s Northern Territory. This immense sandstone inselberg, formed over 500 million years ago, records a powerful story of tectonic collision, mountain building, erosion, and sea-level change that shaped central Australia. Composed of Mutitjulu Arkose, Uluru originated from sediments eroded from the ancient Petermann Ranges and later tilted vertically by the Alice Springs Orogeny. Beyond its geological importance, Uluru is a sacred cultural landscape for the Anangu people, whose Tjukurpa law connects land, ancestry, and identity. Today, Uluru stands at the core of the UNESCO-listed Uluru–Kata Tjuta National Park, offering visitors a profound fusion of deep time, living culture, and desert beauty.
Uluru has been for tens of thousands of years a sacred resting place for the ancient spirits of its traditional Aboriginal owners known as the Anangu people. Their culture of Tjukurpa has been passed down through many generations of elders to younger people through stories, songs, dances, rituals, ceremonies, and art. Tjukurpa guides how the Anangu people connect to their ancestors and provides meaning to how the world was created and how to survive in the desert.
Uluru is located roughly a 5-hour drive 465Km south west of Alice Springs heading out along the Stuart Highway a major North to South transnational highway. Alternatively, you can fly to Ayers Rock (Uluru) or Connellan Airport from a number of cities and stay at the Ayres Rock Resort where you can take the opportunity to immerse yourself in the local culture and traditions. The must-do activities is to walk the 10Km base perimeter of Uluru and experience the changing colours of Uluru at either sun rise or sun set.
The first European non-Aboriginal person to discover Uluru was Ernest Giles an English explorer in 1872. In 1873 during a time of colonial rule of Australia by the British Empire dating back to 1788. Uluru was renamed to Ayers Rock in recognition of Sir Henry Ayers the Chief Secretary of South Australia. In 2002 the original name was officially reinstated as a dual name though most people now refer to it as just Uluru.
Uluru is located on the margin of the Amadeus Basin in Central Australia. The Amadeus Basin is believed to have first formed over 900 million years ago as a result of the breakup of the supercontinent Rodinia. The Amadeus Basin along with the Georgina, Ngalia, Officer and Savory Basins are component parts of the larger intra-cratonic Centralian Superbasin of Central Australia.
Over many millions of years the Amadeus Basin was filled with both terrestrial and marine sediments having been flooded until about 300 million years ago. The weight of the sediments cemented and compacted into sandstone.
Whilst this was happening the Petermann Orogeny a mountain building event was underway fuelled by the Warakurna large igneous province and the collision of the Indian tectonic plate with Western Australia.
The Petermann Mountain range was an outcome to the formation of the supercontinent of Gondwana. Over subsequent millions of years the absence of vegetation made the mountains prone to increased rates of environmental weathering and erosion and overtime became smaller.
As the Pertermann Range eroded vast quantities of sediment was washed away from the northern slopes into braided rivers on to the low lying plains to form alluvial fans in the Amadeus Basin. Then 500 million years ago Central Australia was flooded again by a shallow sea until it receded over 100 million years later. It was then that the Central Australian region and its sandstone would be uplifted again and re-raised above sea level.
The resistant rock of Uluru was tilted by 90 degrees by the forces of folding and faulting by the Alice Springs Orogeny. The surrounding rocks eroded rapidly leaving the resistant rock of Uluru as an inselberg.
As Uluru has weathered it has created cliffs, caves, and natural arches and the effects of the air temperature both heating and cooling the rock has helped to release iron oxides from within the rock to give its red surface colour.
The surface of Uluru is flaking or spalling where moisture in the rock allows the re-precipitation of thin layers of iron-rich minerals known as goethite. These can detach from the surface rock though and interestingly the original colour of the rock is grey.
The Northern Territory of Australia is a remarkable travel destination offering a unique blend of natural beauty, cultural richness, and adventure. Known as the "Top End" and the "Red Centre," the landscapes of the Northern Territory range from tropical wetlands to arid deserts that connect with one of the world’s oldest living cultures where traditions have been passed down for thousands of years. Uluru is a must-visit destination for travellers seeking an unforgettable Australian experience of the outback.
