Visit Mt Augustus – the world’s largest Monocline on our camping tour.Mt Augustus is the largest Monocline in the world. You may see it mentioned in some places as the worlds largest Monolith or rock, but this is technically incorrect.
Mt Augustus
The difference between a Monolith and a Monocline is fairly simple to explain. A Monolith is a single large block of stone whereas a Monocline is an exposed slab of rock belonging to a layer beneath. In other words a monocline is not a single piece of rock. Mt Augustus is more than twice the size of Uluru and is visible from 100km away. On 3 June 1858 Francis Gregory became the first European to climb the Mountain. He named it after his brother Sir Augustus Charles Gregory who at the time was on his last expedition in Queensland attempting to discover the whereabouts of Ludwig Leichhardt. The traditional custodians are the Wadjari tribe who know Mt Augustus as Burringurrah. Mt Augustus is 8km long, 3 km wide and 858 metres high and in total 1105 metres above sea level, while Uluru is 3.6km long 2.4km wide and 348.7 metres high. They are both very impressive pieces of nature and most definitely well worth the visit. Have a look here at our ITINERARY for our 7 Day Tour to Mt Augustus – we also visit the Pinnacles; Kalbarri National Park; Monkey Mia; Kennedy Ranges; New Norcia; and call into the Swan Valley last day to visit a winery or Chocolate Factory. The tour is all inclusive camping with everything supplied. As the world's largest monocline Mt Augustus has a central ridge which is almost 8 kilometres long and it is estimated that the rock of the mountain is some 1000 million years old. It was formed from an uplift which raised an ancient seabed of sandstone conglomerate and folded it into a dramatic anticline (like an inverted V shape). The granite rock which lies beneath Mt Augustus is said to be 1650 million years old making it not only twice the size of Uluru but also considerably older. Another difference between Uluru and Mount Augustus is that Uluru has a hard coating on its exterior which has, very distinctively, created a situation where there is no scree slope at the bottom of the monolith. In the case of Mount Augustus there is a scree slope so it lacks the distinctive shape of Uluru although it does “change colour” during the day. Mount Augustus also has considerable vegetation on its slopes. Obviously when it rains the water from the rock has to go somewhere and in this case it seeps beneath the sand to feed the white-barked river gums. (If ever you get lost in the bush and there are river gums about there is water – it may be fairly deep but there is water there). There are a couple of lovely river gums on the “Gully walk”. There are other wattles, mulga etc across the red earth. You will also see honeyeaters, galahs, corellas, kookaburras, birds of prey etc. As well as emus (which after all are birds too), also swans and ducks near the permanent water pools. Then there are kangaroos, Bungarras (goannas) and other reptiles. Historically, the Aboriginal people who inhabited the area around Mount Augustus were known as the Wadjeri. In times of plenty, the Wadjeri people would roam over a wide area of the Gascoyne. In times of drought, however, the Wadjeri would return to areas where water was available, such as the natural springs along the base of Mount Augustus. There are at least three Dreaming stories for Mount Augustus. Although each differs slightly in detail, the basic thread of the story remains the same. Probably the best-known story is one about a boy called Burringurrah, who was undergoing his initiation into manhood. ”The rigours of initiation so distressed Burringurrah that he ran away. In doing so, he transgressed the Aboriginal tribal law and under the law he had to be punished. Tribesmen pursued the boy, finally catching up with him and spearing him in the upper right leg (spearing still remains the main form of punishment under tribal law). Burringurrah fell to the ground; the spear head broke from its shaft and protruded from his leg. The boy tried to crawl away, but the women beat him with their mulgurrahs (fighting sticks). Burringurrah collapsed and died, lying on his belly with his left leg bent up beside his body”' As you look at Mount Augustus you can see the shape of a body, with the stump of the spear in the leg. The geological fracture lines at the western end of the mount indicate the wounds inflicted by the mulgurrah. The spear stump is the small peak called Edney's Lookout, at the eastern end of the mount. Our Mt Augustus 7 day Tour Inclusions:
Book our 7 Day Mount Augustus Tour ONLINE, Contact Us or ring Ian on 0437 948 535. For more information out our Mt Augustus Tour Itinerary have a look here. SPECTACULAR MAJOR HIGHLIGHTS:
Have a look at where Our other tours go in Western Australia.
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