TheDanxia landform (Chinese:丹霞地貌;pinyin:dānxiá dìmào) refers to various landscapes found in southeast, southwest and northwest China that "consist of a redbed characterized by steep cliffs".[1] It is a unique type ofpetrographicgeomorphology found inChina. Danxialandform is formed from red-colouredsandstones andconglomerates of largelyCretaceous age. The landforms look very much likekarst topography that forms in areas underlain bylimestones, but since the rocks that form danxia are sandstones and conglomerates, they have been called "pseudo-karst" landforms. They were formed by endogenous forces (includinguplift) and exogenous forces (includingweathering anderosion).[2]
The first studies on what are now referred to as Danxia landforms were conducted atMount Danxia nearShaoguan, China. In the 1920s and 1930s Chinese geologists made an effort to learn more about these interesting geomorphic structures.[3] Danxia landforms are made up of uplifted continental crust that has been faulted and eroded, exposing large scarps of layered rock, red in color.[4]
Danxia landforms cover several provinces in southeast China.Taining County, Fujian Province, has very good examples of "young" danxia landforms wherein deep, narrow valleys have been formed. As the landform gets older, valleys widen and one gets isolated towers and ridges. The danxia landform is named after Mount Danxia, one of the most famous examples of the danxia landform. A very peculiar feature of danxia landscape is the development of numerouscaves of various sizes and shapes. The caves tend to be shallow and isolated, unlike true karst terrain where caves tend to form deep, interconnecting networks. In 2010, several danxia landscapes in southern China, with a general name of "China Danxia", were inscribed as aWorld Heritage Site.[5] The six inscribed danxia landform areas are:Mount Langshan andMount Wanfo (Hunan Province),Mount Danxia (Guangdong Province),Taining andMount Guanzhi (Fujian Province),Mount Longhu andGuifeng (Jiangxi Province),Fangyan,Mount Jianglang (Zhejiang Province), andMount Chishui (Guizhou Province). The total core area of 6 regions above is 73,945 hectares (182,720 acres), and the total buffer area is 65,446 hectares (161,720 acres).[1] Other notable danxia areas, such asZhangye Danxia National Geological Park, are not included in the World Heritage Site.
Around 80 million years ago (Ma) cretaceous red sandstone and conglomerate was laid down by sedimentation from the lakes and streams.[6] After another 15 million years, tectonic plate movements created many faults.[6] About 23 Ma, movement of the Himalayan range disturbed the land around the Danxia landform in the Guangdong Province of China uplifting and completely changing the topography of the area.[6] Over millions of years the steep cliffs that can be seen today, exposed by faults, were formed through weathering and erosion. This geology can be seen at Danxiashan Geopark in China, where there is about 290 square kilometers of streams, forest and towering Danxian rock formations.[6]
In 1928, the Mineral scientistFeng Jinglan Noticed the widespread distribution of the red oxidation layer.Feng Jinglan realized that this is a brand new landform and haven't been named.[citation needed] He decided to name it as DanXia, which come from the word in the ancient Chinese poem ofCaoPi "Hibiscus Pool Poetry". The name "Dan Xia" refers to "丹（vermilion）霞（sunglow）" in Chinese.[7]
In an effort to learn more about danxia topography, a study on the geomorphology of an area in China was conducted. Mount Danxia was the focus of the research, taking Digital Elevation Matrix (DEM) based data from many watersheds and basins in the area.[4] Understanding the hydrology of the area can tell a lot about the nearby formations. For example, "localized erosion has enhanced deepening of existing fractures rather than lateral erosion to form deep and narrow valleys, while long-term erosion provided large and gentle watersheds."[4] This study usedArcGIS. These scientists took maps of the area and overlaid certain features they wanted to measure, such as stream length and size.
| UNESCO World Heritage Site | |
|---|---|
| Official name | China Danxia |
| Location | China |
| Criteria | Natural: (vii), (viii) |
| Reference | 1335 |
| Inscription | 2010 (34thSession) |
| Area | 82,151 ha (203,000 acres) |
| Buffer zone | 218,357 ha (539,570 acres) |
| Website | www |
| Coordinates | 28°25′19″N106°2′33″E / 28.42194°N 106.04250°E /28.42194; 106.04250 |
.svg)  Location of Danxia landform in Earth | |
China Danxia, orDanxia landform of China, is a subset of the Danxia landforms which, in August 2010, entered theWorld Heritage List.[8][9][10]
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Media related toDanxia landform at Wikimedia Commons| East |
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| South Central |
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| Multiple regions |
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