Mount Augustus National Park facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Mount Augustus National ParkWestern Australia |
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IUCN Category III (Natural Monument)
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Mount Augustus
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 Mount Augustus National Park
Location in Western Australia
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| Nearest town or city | Meekatharra |
| Established | 1989 |
| Area | 91.68 km2 (35.4 sq mi) |
| Managing authorities | Department of Parks and Wildlife (Western Australia) (was Department of Environment and Conservation) |
| Website | Mount Augustus National Park |
| See also | List of protected areas of Western Australia |
Mount Augustus National Park is a special place in the Gascoyne region of Western Australia. It's about 852 km north of Perth. You can also find it 490 km east of Carnarvon. The park is 390 km northwest of Meekatharra.
The main feature of the park is Mount Augustus itself. The local Wadjari Aboriginal people call this huge rock Burringurrah.
Exploring Mount Augustus
Mount Augustus is often called the "world's biggest monolith." However, it is actually an inselberg or a monocline. An inselberg is a mountain that stands alone. A monocline is a large rock that has been folded.
There is a caravan park near the Mount Augustus Station homestead. This park offers places to stay and a restaurant. It is open during the busiest tourist times.
The Rocks of Mount Augustus
Mount Augustus is made of two main types of rock. These are sandstone and conglomerate. Geologists call this rock layer the Mount Augustus Sandstone.
Underneath this sandstone, there is older granite. The granite is about 1.64 billion years old. The sandstone was laid down by ancient rivers. Later, Earth's movements folded these rocks. This folding created the shape we see today.
Mount Augustus: A Look Back in Time
The first recorded European to climb Mount Augustus was Francis Thomas Gregory. He reached the top on June 3, 1858. This was during his 107-day trip through the Gascoyne area.
Weeks later, he named the mountain after his brother. His brother was Sir Augustus Charles Gregory. Sir Augustus was on an expedition at the time. He was looking for Ludwig Leichhardt in Queensland.
The land around Mount Augustus was first used for farming in 1887. This area was called Mount Augustus Station. In 1989, parts of this land were set aside. They were joined with land from Cobra Station. This created the 9,168-hectare National Park.
