THE BIG ROCK
If you walk around a certain rock in Australia, you really go on a
hike—a five-mile (8-kilometer) hike. This great rock is a mile and a
half (2.4 kilometers) long and a mile (1.6 kilometers) wide. And if you
could climb to its top, you’d be up 1,100 feet (335 meters)—almost as
high as the top of the world’s tallest building.
From the top of the rock, you’d see flat desert country that makes up so
much of Australia. You’d see scattered hills, valleys, and other rock
formations. And you’d be standing on one of the biggest rocks in the
world. This famous landmark is Ayers Rock, named in honor of Sir Henry
Ayers, who was a leader of the government of South Australia.
Thousands of tourists come each year to see this giant rock, which is
now part of Ayers Rock—Mount Olga National Park. And Ayers Rock is
cpiite a sight, for it seems to change color in the sunlight. In the
morning the rock looks deep purple. But in the light of the setting sun,
it is a brilliant orange.
In prehistoric times, Aborigines—the first people to live in
Australia—used caves in the rock. The Aborigines painted pictures on
the walls of these caves—pictures you can still see today.
