GEOGRAPHIC ISSUE ULURU VIEWPOINTS:
BY TAYLA BAXTER-L1A GEOGRAPHY CULTURAL: Uluru has a spiritual significance to the Aboriginals/ Pitjantjatjara people, because it is the traditional route of the ancestral Mala men on their arrival to Uluru .The climb isn't prohibited, but the Aboriginals ask you to respect their culture and land. SAFETY: The climb is 348 meters high the same height as a 95 story building. Over 35 people have died doing the walk. Every year people are rescued, many suffering serious injuries such as broken bones, heat exhaustion and extreme dehydration. ENVIRONMENTAL: The path up to the top is very smooth, due to thousands of tourists walking the path; the erosion is changing of Uluru. There is also no toilet facilities on the sandstone formation and there is no soil to dig a hole. So when it rains everything washes off the rock into fresh waterholes below where native reptiles, birds and frogs live. Water quality studies show that bacterial levels are higher in waterholes than previous studies ever recorded. |