|
---
|
Uluru - Kata Tjuta National Park
| Source: |
Go to the World Heritage List for more information. |
| Identifier: |
105040 |
| Location: |
Lasseter Hwy, Yulara |
Local
Government: |
Unicorporated NT |
| State: |
NT |
| Country: |
Australia |
Statement of
Significance: |
Uluru-Kata Tjuta
National Park was inscribed on the World Heritage List in two stages, initially
for its outstanding universal natural values and then for its outstanding
universal cultural values:
Natural
- as an
example of on-going geological processes; and
- as an
example of exceptional natural beauty and combination of natural and
cultural elements.
Cultural
- as an
outstanding example of traditional human land use; and
- being
directly associated with living traditions and beliefs of outstanding
universal significance.
The park covers an area of 132 566 hectares of arid
ecosystems and is located close to the centre of Australia in the traditional
lands of Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara Aboriginal people (locally known as
Anangu).
The huge rock formations of Uluru and Kata Tjuta
are remarkable geological and landform features set in a contrasting,
relatively flat, sand-plain environment. They are a part of an important
cultural landscape and have special significance to Anangu. The features of
both Uluru and Kata Tjuta are physical evidence of the actions,
artefacts and bodies of the ancestral heroes (the tjukuritja) who travelled the
earth in creation times. The travels of these ancestral heroes are celebrated
in Anangu religion and culture today.
The wider landscape of the park also contains evidence of
the travels of Anangu ancestors and represents the outcome of thousands of
years of management under traditional practices governed by the tjukurpa (law).
Aboriginal people learned how to patch burn the country from the Tjukurpa of
lungkata, the blue tongued lizard. Now, although modern methods are used, the
practice of lighting small fires close together during the cool season leaves
burnt and unburnt areas in a pattern like a mosaic.This knowledge is now
adopted as a major ecological management tool in the Park. Tjukurpa also
teaches about the location and care of rockholes and other water sources.
Anthropologists say that a unique cultural adaptation to the
desert environment enabled Anangu and related groups of Aboriginal communities
in the Western Desert to develop social groups that were based on
semi-permanent water sources, but which held reciprocal rights of access over
plants and animal resources in the intervening areas.
Uluru is a huge, rounded, red sandstone monolith
9.4 kilometres in circumference rising to a height of over 340 metres above the
plain. Rock art in the caves around its base are further evidence of the
enduring cultural traditions of Anangu.
About 32 kilometres to the west of Uluru lie the
36 steep-sided domes of Kata Tjuta. The domes cover an area of 3 500
hectares with Mount Olga, the highest feature, rising to a height of 500
metres. This area is sacred under Anangu men's law and, as such, detailed
knowledge of it is restricted.
The predominantly sandy landscape is dominated by
spinifex and low shrubs on sand dunes and sand plains dotted with large desert
oaks. Sizeable areas of mulga woodland and other low shrubs also occur on dunes
and swales. The alluvial flow areas at the very base of the major rock
formations support large bloodwoods, acacias and native grasses. Water holes
and soaks provide restricted habitats for a number of rare and unique plant
species. Larger stands of mulga and other acacias dominate the harder, wide,
sand plain surrounding Uluru and Kata Tjuta.
Over 150 species of birds, and many reptiles, amphibians
and invertebrates adapted to arid environments have also been recorded.
A number of rare mammals are also found in the park,
including the hairy-footed dunnart, the sandhill dunnart and the mulgara.
Reptile species are found in numbers unparalleled
anywhere else in the world and are well adapted to the arid environment. A
number of lizard species are found in the park, including the rare giant desert
skink and Australia's largest lizard, the perentie, which may grow to a length
of 2.5 metres.
The inalienable freehold title to Uluru-Kata Tjuta
National Park was handed back to the traditional owners in 1985 and is held by
the Uluru-Kata Tjuta Aboriginal Land Trust. The Park was then
leased back to the Director of National Parks and Wildlife. The Park is jointly
managed under direction of a Board of Management that includes a majority of
Anangu traditional owners.
|
| Description: |
Physical features
Situated on the southern margin of the major Amadeus
sedimentary basin, the park comprises extensive sand plains, dunes and alluvial
desert, punctuated by the Uluru monolith Kata Tjuta, some 32km to the
west. Uluru is composed of steeply dipping, feldspar
rich sandstone arkose and has been exposed as a
result of folding, faulting, the erosion of surrounding rock and infill. The
monolith has a base circumference of 9.4km, smooth sloping sides of up to 80 degrees gradient and
a relatively flat top. Major surface features of the rock include: sheet
erosion with layers 1-3m thick, parallel to the existing surface, breaking
away; deep parallel fissures which extend from the top and down the sides of
the monolith; and a number of caves, inlets and overhangs at the base formed by
chemical degradation and sand blast erosion. Kata Tjuta, covering about 3500ha, comprises 36 steep-sided rock
domes of gently dipping Mount
Currie conglomerate
consisting of phenocrysts of fine grained acid and
basic rocks, granite and gneiss in an epidote rich
matrix. Kata Tjuta tends to
have hemispherical summits, near vertical sides, steep-sided intervening
valleys and has been exposed by the same process as Uluru.
Lithosols, gravelly red
earths, red earthy sands and calcareous red earth soils are derived from
weathered Mount Currie conglomerate, and found as
isolated pockets on scree slopes and alluvial fans.
Gently sloping sand plains of medium textured red earths, sandy loams and red
earth sands are separated from dune formations of red siliceous sand and red
earth sands by a transitional zone comprising largely
very coarse siliceous sand. Dunes up to 30m high are characterised by mobile
crests, vegetated flanks and swales rilled and
gullied by water; these, and the sand plains occupy the bulk of the park.
Surface water is largely restricted to seasonal pools fed by short shallow
water courses from the monolith. Defined water courses do not exist in the dune
formations, although swales are moister and ponding
may occasionally occur. Two aquifers have been located which could supply
approximately 870,000 cubic metres of water per annum (ANPWS, 1982; 1986a).
Climate
The park experiences two significant seasons: an April to
October winter and November to March summer. Mean daily minimum and maximum
temperatures are 4 degrees C and 20 degrees C respectively in winter and 22
degrees C and 38 degrees C in summer. Absolute temperatures range between -5
degrees C and 44 degrees C and frosts are not unusual in June, July and August.
Annual rainfall is highly variable, with 140mm in 1970 and 935mm in 1974. Mean
annual rainfall from 1969 was 310mm, although this figure probably reflects an
unusually wet period. Peak rainfall occurs during winter, whilst mean peak
humidity, at about 67%, occurs in June-July. Prevailing winds blow from
south-east to north-east in summer and north-east to south-west in winter
(ANPWS, 1982).
Vegetation
The vegetation, modified by substrate stability, climate and
fire can be grouped into five major categories, arranged concentrically around
the monolith formations. First, Uluru supports hardy
perennial grass Cymbopogon spp. and Tripogon spp. in soil pockets, and sedge Cyperus spp. and Fymbristylis sp.
on very shallow soil. Patches of Acacia spp., spinifex
Triodia spp., and isolated Ficus
platypoda and Eucalyptus terminalis
are also found. Spinifex grass Triodia irritans forms almost pure stands on the Kata Tjuta, whilst on the less
steep slopes Acacia spp., Cassia spp. and Hakea spp. also occur. Scree slopes support low trees Eucalyptusspp., acacia and
many other shrub species. Dense patches of perennial grass Eriachne
scleranthoides dominate the areas immediately around
the base of rock outcrops whilst grass and sedge are dominant on the fringing
shallow soils. Second, the Kata Tjuta
foothills which support annual grasses, principally mulga grass Aristida contorta and oat grass Enneapogon polyphyllus, some low
Acacia aneura, and shrubs Cassia spp. and Ptilotus spp.. Eucalyptus spp., shrubs and perennial
grasses are found in drainage courses. Third, the fans and outwash alluviums
around the monoliths support a complex of open grassland, low trees and shrubs.
Species include bloodwood Eucalyptus terminalis,
tea-tree Melaleuca sp., acacia, lamb's tails Ptilotus sp., shrubs and grasses Themeda
avenacea, Enneapogon cylindricus and Eragrostis eriopoda. During rainy periods this vegetation can be
luxuriant. Fourth, the plains area support dense groves of mulga, acacia,
native fuschia Eremophila
spp. with perennial grass understorey Eragrostis eriopoda; the intergrove areas,
however, are sparsely vegetated. Fifth, the sand dunes, rises and plains are
dominated by spinifex grass Triodia
pungens, open scrub of Eucalyptus gamophylla,
Acacia kempeana, broom bush Templetonia
hookeri with occasional desert oaks Allocasuarina decaisneana in
moister locations. Species which are in danger of being lost from the park
include: Wurmbea centralis,
Juncus continuus, Gossypium sturtianum, Rulingia magniflora, Hibbertia glabberrima, Baeckea polystemona and Plectranthus intraterraneus. Exotic species, for example Rumex vesicarius and Mossman River grass Cenchrus
echinatus, have become established (ANPWS, 1982;
1986a).
Fauna
Twenty two native mammals are found in the park including
dingo Canis familiaris
dingo, red kangaroo Macropus rufus,
common wallaroo M. robustus,
marsupial mole Notoryctes typhlops,
spinifex hopping mouse Notomys
alexis, several bat species including Australian
false vampire Marcoderma gigas
(V), bilby Macrotis lagotis
(E), occasional short nosed echidna Tachyglossus aculeatus and several small marsupials and native rodents.
However, rufous hare-wallaby Lagorchestes
hirsutus (R), burrowing bettong Bettongia
lesueur (R) and common brush-tail possum Trichosurus vulpecula have been
eradicated in the past 80 years although reintroduction is being considered
(ANPWS, 1986b). Introduced red fox Vulpes vulpes, cat Felis catus, house mouse Mus musculus
and European rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus,
in addition to feral dogs and camels, compete with indigenous species. More
than 150 bird species have been recorded in the park, of which 66 are
considered resident. These include parrots, wrens, thornbills and raptors such
as peregrine falcon Falco peregrinus.
All five Australian reptile families are represented and species include
monitor lizard Varanus giganteus,
thorny devil lizard Moloch horridus,
western brown snake Pseudonaja nuchalis,
Ramsay's python Aspidites ramsayi
and numerous others. Aestivating amphibians such as water-holding frogs Cyclorana cultripes and C. platycephalus are found. Invertebrates are poorly known but
include fairy shrimp Imnadopsis sp. and shield shrimp
Triops australiensis, which
exploit seasonal rock pools (ANPWS 1982; 1986a).
|
|
---
|
