Uluru, also known as Ayers Rock, is a large sandstone rock formation in central Australia, in the Northern Territory. It is located in Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, 440 km southwest of Alice Springs at . Uluru is sacred to the Pitjantjatjara, an Aboriginal people of the area, and has many springs, waterholes, rock caves and ancient paintings.

Name

---

The local Pitjantjatjara people call the landmark Uluru (IPA: ). This word has no other meaning in Pitjantjatjara, but it is a local family name. The underlined r in Uluru is a retroflex approximant, as used by some American English speakers. R without underline would be a tapped or trilled r like in Spanish.

In October 1872 the explorer Ernest Giles was the first non-indigenous person to sight the rock formation. He saw it from a considerable distance, and was prevented by Lake Amadeus from approaching closer. He described it as "the remarkable pebble". On 19 July, 1873, the surveyor William Gosse visited the rock and named it Ayers Rock in honour of the then Chief Secretary of South Australia, Sir Henry Ayers. Since then, both names have been used, although Ayers Rock was the most common name for many years.

More on [ Uluru ]