關(guān)于澳大利亞神秘的烏魯魯?shù)挠腥な聦?shí)

關(guān)于澳大利亞神秘的烏魯魯?shù)挠腥な聦?shí)

The massive, rust-red rock rising from the dry ground in the middle of Australia is a sight that leaves most people in awe. Indeed, it's such a unique structure that the Anangu tribe, an Aboriginal people of Australia, have considered it a sacred site for 10,000 years or more.

澳大利亞中部干燥的地面上矗立著巨大的鐵銹紅色的巖石，這一景象讓大多數(shù)人敬畏不已。事實(shí)上，它是如此獨(dú)特的結(jié)構(gòu)，以至于澳大利亞原住民阿南古部落(Anangu tribe)一萬多年來一直把它視為圣地。

Uluru is an impressive geological sight and a sacred cultural place. (Photo: Maurizio De Mattei/Shutterstock.com)

Here are some things worth knowing about this special place — including how to virtually walk around the soaring tower of sedimentary rock.

這里有一些關(guān)于這個特別的地方值得了解的事情——包括如何在高聳的沉積巖塔周圍行走。

Uluru is a sacred place

烏魯魯是一個神圣的地方

Uluru, also known as Ayers Rock, is a large sandstone rock formation in the southern part of the Northern Territory, central Australia. (Photo: Maurizio De Mattei/Shutterstock.com)

Uluru has a rich geological history but also a rich cultural history. The monolith is a holy place for the Anangu tribe, who have been in the area for around 10,000 years.

烏魯魯有豐富的地質(zhì)歷史，也有豐富的文化歷史。巨石是Anangu部落的圣地，他們已經(jīng)在這個地區(qū)生活了大約一萬年。

Artwork on the rock dates back at least 5,000 years, possibly more, and as Parks Australia explains, the drawings are not frozen in time: "Anangu have a living culture, this symbolism is still used in sand painting, wooden craft making, body painting and modern artworks today."

巖石上的藝術(shù)作品至少可以追溯到5000年前，甚至更早，正如澳大利亞公園所解釋的那樣，這些畫并沒有被時間凍結(jié):“阿南古有自己的文化，這種象征主義至今仍在沙畫、木雕工藝、人體彩繪和現(xiàn)代藝術(shù)作品中使用。”

Most of Uluru's mass is underground

烏魯魯?shù)拇蟛糠治镔|(zhì)都在地下

The stripes running down the side of Uluru's face are from erosion caused by runnels of rainwater flowing down. (Photo: Maurizio De Mattei/Shutterstock)

Standing at 1,141 feet tall, 2.2 miles long and 1.2 miles wide, Uluru is a truly massive piece of rock. And yet most of Uluru is actually underground. Though it looks like it was set down on the landscape, Uluru isn't like a boulder that rolled into place and mostly sits above ground. Rather, the rock is more like an iceberg, with some of its mass above the surface but much of it remaining below. More than 1.5 miles of the rock is believed to lie beneath the ever-eroding earth, though no one knows for certain how far it goes.

烏魯魯高1141英尺，長2.2英里，寬1.2英里，是一塊巨大的巖石。然而，烏魯魯?shù)拇蟛糠謱?shí)際上是在地下。雖然它看起來是建在地面上的，但烏魯魯并不像一個滾動到位的巨石，它大部分位于地面之上。更確切地說，這塊巖石更像是一座冰山，它的部分重量在表面以上，但大部分仍留在下面。超過1.5英里的巖石被認(rèn)為是在不斷侵蝕的地球下面，雖然沒有人知道它到底有多遠(yuǎn)。

Uluru is a UNESCO World Heritage site

烏魯魯是聯(lián)合國教科文組織世界遺產(chǎn)

Uluru is a popular tourist destination, with many accessing the area to celebrate the landscape and the culture surrounding the rock. The Uluru Base Walk that runs around the entire base of the rock. (Photo: Maurizio De Mattei/Shutterstock.com)

Not only is Uluru recognized unofficially as a truly special spot, but the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) named Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park as World Heritage site, a prestigious designation.

烏魯魯不僅被非正式地認(rèn)定為一個真正特殊的地方，而且聯(lián)合國教育、科學(xué)及文化組織(UNESCO)也將烏盧魯-卡塔楚塔國家公園命名為世界遺產(chǎn)，一個享有聲望的稱號。

It's not the biggest monolith in the world

它不是世界上最大的巨石

Many think Uluru is the largest single chunk of rock on the planet, but that's a misconception. Mount Augustus in Western Australia is actually the largest monolith around. Though it can't lay claim to this superlative, Uluru is more than simply a monolith.

許多人認(rèn)為烏魯魯是地球上最大的一塊巖石，但這是一種誤解。西澳大利亞的奧古斯都山實(shí)際上是最大的巨石。雖然它不能聲稱這是最高級的，但烏魯魯不僅僅是一塊巨石。

While you know how Uluru was formed, you might be wondering how it got its amazingly vivid color. The rock that forms Uluru has a high iron content, so while the rock really has a grayish color, the oxidation that occurs with weathering turns the surface rust red.

雖然你知道烏魯魯是如何形成的，但你可能想知道它是如何擁有如此鮮艷的顏色的。形成烏魯魯?shù)膸r石含鐵量高，所以當(dāng)巖石呈灰白色時，風(fēng)化過程中發(fā)生的氧化作用使巖石表面呈鐵銹紅色。