Quartz sandstone peak forest landforms of Zhangjiajie Geopark, northwest Hunan Province, China: pattern, constraints and comparison |
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| Authors: | Guifang Yang Mingzhong Tian Xujiao Zhang Zhenghong Chen Robert A L Wray Zhiliang Ge Yamin Ping Zhiyun Ni and Zhen Yang |
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| Institution: | (1) School of Earth Sciences and Resources, China University of Geosciences, Beijing, 100083, China;(2) Development Research Centre, China Meteorological Administration, Beijing, 100081, China;(3) UOW College and School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, 2522, Australia |
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| Abstract: | The Zhangjiajie Sandstone Peak Forest Geopark in northwest Hunan Province, China, is a comprehensive geopark containing many
spectacular quartz sandstone landforms, limestone karst landscapes and various other important geoheritage resources. It is
listed as a UNESCO World Geopark and is also part of the World Heritage Wulingyuan Scenic and Historic Interest Area for its
important landscape features. Many of the sandstone landforms, particularly the vast number of thin pillars or spires, are
very unusual and serve as the core landscapes of the geopark. But Zhangjiajie displays a diverse range of landform types,
exhibiting spectacular patterns and regular distributions. In this paper, the geomorphic traits, distribution pattern and
constraints of the sandstone landforms of the Zhangjiajie Geopark are examined. Our study indicates that in the outcropping
areas, the sandstones display four distinctive levels from 300 to 1,000 m above sea level, and these extend clearly from the
highest sandstone plateau platform to the center of the valleys. The high sandstone platforms developed close to a flat high-level
erosional surface, and subsequent erosion into this plateau has resulted in successively lower levels of landforms that transition
gradually from peak walls, peak clusters, peak forests and peak pillars to remnant peaks in the lower valley bottoms. The
form and distribution of the Zhangjiajie sandstone landforms are primarily dominated by the geological setting, particularly
the presence of brittle structures (fractures and joint sets) trending NNW, ENE and NE. Triggered by the episodic tectonic
movements, major streams and escarpments frequently occur along these structural directions, while some of the peak walls,
peak clusters and peak forests have their longer elongated axes corresponding to NE or NNW directions, with an increased density
of peak forms at the intersection of these fractures and joints. The geometry of the diverse sandstone landforms is also influenced
to a certain degree by the climatic, water system distribution, lithologic properties, biological process, meteorological
features and denudation processes. The suite of quartz sandstone landforms in Zhangjiajie can be compared with other sandstone
landscapes regionally, and our interpretation of the sandstone peak forest formation processes offers a significant contribution
to the study of topographic features and the geomorphic evolution of sandstone landscapes. |
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