from environment.gov.au:"Uluru and Kata Tjuta lie near the southern margin of an area geologists call the Amadeus Basin. This depression in the Earth's crust formed about 900 million years ago, and received layer upon layer of sediment over several hundred million years. This stopped about 300 million years ago.
At times the Amadeus Basin was a shallow sea collecting these sediments. Some of it was blocked off from the sea and the water evaporated leaving crusted salt. A cold period left deposits of glacial rock.
These bare mountains eroded easily. Huge amounts of sediment washed away when it rained and formed alluvial fans adjacent to the ranges. It is the remains of at least two of these alluvial fans that are seen today as Uluru and Kata Tjuta."
couldn't say better.
afternoon light on uluru in the distance.
the entry of kata tjuta's walpa gorge
again, erosion wins the art contest.
can't get much redder than that. you know, it kinda reminds me of the red sand you find in the canyon regions in the US...
this is it. this is as far as it gets. walk in any direction now and you'll end up stumbling upon civilization. this is one of the few emptiest spaces remaining on earth. along with the sahara desert and siberia.
nearing the end of the gorge
uluru is mainly made of coarse-grained arkose, a sort of sandstone with much feldspar in it, as well as some conglomerate. on the other hand, kata tjuta's 36 domes consist mainly of conglomerate (sedimentary rock composed by cobbles and boulders of varying rock types, including granite and basalt), held together by sandstone.
walpa gorge, been there, done that.
the domes, in the already declining afternoon sun.
back to uluru and the sunset viewing area, where we were offered drinks (wines and lemonade) and nibbles (shape crackers and dried fruit).
and here we are. orangeness.
they see me rollin', they hatin'
i think i succeeded in finding the most ridiculous cap around.
again, the rock blazes in the dying sunrays.
again, a marvellous show.
the sun sets as quickly as it rises. incredible.
notice that blue part in the sky that rises as the sun sets? it's the earth shadow. It is bounded above by the pinkish antitwilight arch and below by the horizon.
from webexhibits.org:
"The sky’s strong color and brightness near sunset begin with small particles in the relatively thick lower atmosphere being illuminated by direct (reddened) sunlight. As the sun sets, the boundary between the earth’s shadow and the antitwilight arch rises in the sky and becomes progressively less distinct. As the boundary between the antitwilight arch and the earth’s shadow rises, it reaches an area where the atmosphere is thinner, and less red light is scattered. Eventually, only bluish light is scattered and only this blue light reaches our eyes. Ultimately, the antitwilight arch fades to blue, and the shadow blends smoothly with the deepening blue night sky.
How can we see the earth’s shadow before sunset? Is it geometrically impossible? In fact, its dark bluish rim can be seen several minutes before the sun disappears. Just as a piece of cloudy glass is able to cast its shadow on itself, we can see the shadow of the translucent atmosphere cast on itself."
the next day, it's back to sydney!
bye bye kata tjuta
view of uluru from the plane...
yeah! i got em! i got both! and there's not too much haze! yeehaw!
just before sydney, the blue mountains again. unfortunately the plane didn't land in the right direction for me to see sydney's bay. will have to wait for the return flight for that :/
so there, awesome week-end, many pictures!
Aucun commentaire:
Enregistrer un commentaire