What is Zhangye Danxia China?

Zhangye Danxia National Geological Park is in the eastern foothills of the Qilian Mountains in Gansu Province, China. The geological park has a spectacular Danxia (/dan-sshyaa/ ‘red cloud’) landform area that covers about 50 square kilometers (19 square miles). The danxia landforms are a masterpiece of nature.

What is Zhangye Danxia known for?

Zhangye Danxia is known for the unusual colours of the rocks, which are smooth, sharp and several hundred meters tall. They are the result of deposits of sandstone and other minerals that occurred over 24 million years.

What type of landform is Zhangye Danxia?

Danxia landform is formed from red-coloured sandstones and conglomerates of largely Cretaceous age. The landforms look very much like karst topography that forms in areas underlain by limestones, but since the rocks that form danxia are sandstones and conglomerates, they have been called “pseudo-karst” landforms.

How was the Zhangye Danxia landform formed?

How Was It Formed? Zhangye ‘s Danxia was formed by the erosion of red sandstone, forming isolated peaks and steep stratified outcrops. Its special geological structure, combined with long-term desert conditions , freeze-thaw peeling, and wind and water erosion gave rise to its present appearance.

Why is Danxia important?

Together with the contrasting forests, winding rivers and majestic waterfalls, China Danxia presents a significant natural phenomenon. Criterion (viii): China Danxia contains a wide variety of well developed red-beds landforms such as peaks, towers, mesas, cuestas, cliffs, valleys, caves and arches.

Who discovered Zhangye Danxia?

On the year 2,000, a journalist and a farmer Lei Yixing in Leize County found the magical Zhangye Danxia Landform and reported on the newspaper. People were all shocked after seeing the photos, and this amazing landform attracted many visitors to explore this rare landscape.

When was the Zhangye Danxia landform formed?

6 million years ago
The formation of Zhangye Danxai Landform dates back to 6 million years ago. The Danxia geological structure was formed by the erosion of red sandstone, forming the isolated peaks and steep outcrops.

What made the Rainbow Mountains?

Formed by weathering, environmental conditions and sedimentary deposits over time, the mountain’s unique minerology created a marbling effect, with layered hues of gold, lavender, red and turquoise towering into the sky. The Rainbow Mountain or Vinicunca is a mountain near Cusco in Peru.

Is Zhangye Danxia natural?

The Zhangye Danxia hills in China have been crafted and perfected by nature over the past 24 million years, by the same collision of the Indian and Eurasian plates that produced the Himalaya.

When was the Zhangye Danxia discovered?

Where is the Zhangye Danxia located at in China?

Gansu province
The Zhangye Danxia National Park is located in the Gansu province in China’s northwest covering 200 square miles. The site was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2009 and is the destination for many Chinese and international tourists.

Is Rainbow Mountain man made?

Though the forms seem as if they could be man-made creations—like rainbow layer cookies or painted canvases—their coloration is a completely natural phenomenon. The rainbow striations are the result of centuries of tectonic shifts, climatic conditions, and the erosion of red terrigenous sedimentary beds.