The walls
Red sandstone.
Warren Poole — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Nasher — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Warren Poole — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Kyle Fiedler — CC BY-SA 4.0 · PotMart186 — CC BY-SA 4.0
Kings Canyon, also called Watarrka, is a deep canyon at the western end of the George Gill Range in Australia's Northern Territory, inside Watarrka National Park. It lies about 321 km south-west of Alice Springs. The Luritja people have lived in the area for at least 20,000 years. The English explorer Ernest Giles reached it in 1872 and named the creek on its floor after his friend Fielder King. Watarrka is the Luritja word for the local umbrella bush. You see towering red sandstone walls dropping straight to a green floor, and rounded, cracked rock domes along the rim. Inside the canyon is a small oasis called the Garden of Eden, with a waterhole, palms and ferns, and white-trunked ghost gums stand on the red rock. It is about 125 km from Uluru in a straight line. The Rim Walk takes about three to four hours and closes on very hot days, so start early and carry plenty of water.
Red sandstone.
Cracked rock.
Pool and palms.
Watarrka National Park, Northern Territory, Australia
Ernest Giles named the creek after his friend Fielder King in 1872.
It closes on very hot days.