Mount Augustus, Western Australia


Mount Augustus is located in the Mount Augustus National Park in Western Australia. The name is also given to the neighbouring pastoral lease, Mount Augustus Station. The local Wadjari people call it Burringurrah, after a Dreamtime figure, a young boy who was speared and turned into a rock.
It is a prominent inselberg that stands above sea level, or approximately above the surrounding plain, and covers an area of. It has a central ridge which is almost long.

Monolith - monocline distinction

Mount Augustus is widely claimed in tourist promotional and information literature as the "world's largest monolith", but the claim does not originate from the geological literature, nor is it substantiated by any other scholarly research.
Mt. Augustus is more than twice the size of Uluru. Unlike Uluru, which is a monolith and, in general, devoid of plant growth, Mt. Augustus is a monocline.

1894 gold rush

There was a gold rush in the 1890s due to local geology.

Flora and fauna

, cassias and eremophilas dominate the plant life and the animal life include emus, red kangaroos, goannas, euros and birds of prey. There is over 100 species of birds on and around Mount Augustus.

Walking tracks

The climb to the summit can take up to 5 hours and there are two trails to get there. There are a number of walking tracks to explore.

Aboriginal History and Rock Engravings

Evidence of early Aboriginal habitation is depicted in the rock engravings around Mount Augustus. Many of the Dreamtime stories of the local Aboriginal Wajarri people can be viewed in the rock engravings at Mundee, Ooramboo and Beedoboondu. All of these are accessible on the loop walking trail.