What is the massive red monolith in Australia sacred to the Anangu people? Uluru is the sacred sandstone landmark associated with the Aṉangu of central Australia.
Located in Australia’s Northern Territory, Uluru rises dramatically from the surrounding desert and is part of Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park. Aṉangu traditions connect its caves, waterholes, paths and formations with ancestral beings and Tjukurpa, the living body of law, knowledge and creation stories.
The landmark is also widely known by its former English name, Ayers Rock. Surveyor William Gosse applied that name in 1873, but the traditional name Uluru is now the standard public name. The Australian government returned ownership to the Aṉangu in 1985 under a lease and joint-management arrangement.
Uluru is often casually called a monolith, but geologists may avoid that term because its precise geological meaning is debated. It is an inselberg made of Mutitjulu Arkose, and its red appearance comes largely from iron oxide.