Scala Ayers Rock

Finally in the distance appeared a red-Ayers Rock - Rock and we are here. Having made an honorary circle over it, the plane fell and bounced on a small airfield potholes, raising a huge cloud of dust. Burning rays of the sun falling almost vertically, the blue sky effectively highlighted in red, lilac color cast in some places rocky boulder. Embedded in a landscape of rare trees, acacias and tufts coarse grass Triodia (Australians call it "Spinifex") faded green color even more animated colorful picture. Like a giant boulder lies Ayers - Rock on the endless plains. This is also an island mountain, although not as pronounced in form, like Sugar Loaf in Rio, but more expressive because it stands alone among the lowland primeval landscape, as well as 30 km west of dissected rock massif, Mount - Olga, who clearly stands on the horizon. "The largest monolith in the world" is written on a rock in one of the guidebooks. Of course, this is somewhat exaggerated. True, Ayers Rock - Rock rises above the plain at 350 m (860 and altitude), and its circumference is 8 km, so it's really impressive mountain. But it is not a monolith, not a massive homogeneous lump, and is composed of layered rock-thin - or coarse-grained, locally conglomeratic arkoses. Arkoses is sandstone with small galechkami feldspar. First arkoses Ayers - and mountains of Mount Doom - Olga thought glacier meltwater deposits permokarbonovogo glaciation, which we will still be ahead. Now they are referred to early Paleozoic or late Precambrian. Yet the mountain Ayers - Rock, despite its layered slagayuschey breed from - the massive, rounded, almost dismembered form really gives the impression of the monolith. Arkosic layers composing the rock are almost vertical, stretch their north - west. Weathering processes that have affected, though only the surface, given the slopes like ribbing, even devoid of vegetation, the top visible furrows deep and 2 meters, and almost the same height ridges. Steep slope of the layers formed long ago, not much later sediment layers themselves, ie, at least in the Paleozoic. But the original outline mountains, numerous forms of microrelief, as well as red-rock of recent origin. Like other island mountains of warm climatic zone, the rock cut out the processes of denudation of the once much larger rock mass. The bell-shape of the mountain is not connected with the peculiarities slagayuschey its breed, it's not out of - a particularly stable layer (hence, not "solid" as the other island or mountain Devils Tower).