CONNER, MOUNT

most easterly of central Australia's giant tors, or monoliths, which include Ayers Rock (called Uluru by the region's Aborigines) and the Olga Rocks rising above the desert plain southeast of Lake Amadeus in southwestern Northern Territory. Mount Conner is flat-topped and horseshoe-shaped and reaches to 2,500 feet (760 m) above sea level; its lower 500 feet (150 m) are covered by a talus (scree) slope, while the highest 300 feet (90 m) are sheer cliffs. The conglomerate and quartzite formation measures 2 miles (3 km) by 3/4 mile (1.2 km), with sandstone and limestone ridges extending for 1 1/2 miles (2.5 km) from the base. It was visited in 1873 by William Gosse, a government surveyor, who named it for a South Australian politician, M.L. Conner. The region's Aborigines, who call the mountain Artilla, believe it to be the home of icemen who create cold weather.