Geomophic Processes

"There was limestone and sand and mud deposited in the Amadeus Basin and that buried the arkose and conglomerate that eventually formed Uluru and Kata Tjuta," said Dr Bradshaw. After a phase of erosion that lasted hundreds of million of years, Uluru and Kata Tjuta eventually formed.

Around 500 million years ago, the whole area became covered in sea. Sand and mud fell to the bottom and covered the seabed, including these fans. The weight of the new seabed turned the fans into rock. The sandy fan became sandstone (Uluru) while the rocky fan became conglomerate rock (Kata Tjuta).

400 million years ago, the sea disappeared. Rocks folded and tilted as the earth’s tectonic plates shifted. Kata Tjuta tilted slightly and Uluru tilted 90 degrees.

Over the last 300 million years, the softer rocks eroded away, leaving the spectacular forms of Uluru and Kata Tjuta behind.