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Tuesday, July 22, 2014

CHINA'S FORESTS OF ROCK - GIANT ARCHES AND PILLARS MADE BY COLLAPSED SUPERCAVES AND THE ACTION OF WATER


Vast: Jaw-dropping limestone 'karsts' formed by erosion over 270million years soar hundreds of feet into the air across a huge region of southern China. Pictured, climber Emily Harrington takes the hard way up Moon Hill, an arch which was formed from the remains of a collapsed cave. Sightseers can take an easier dirt track
Moon Hill, formed from the remains of a collapsed cave 
Forests of rock: Awe-inspiring images reveal the towering arches and pillars of limestone which dominate ancient lands of China 
  • Jaw-dropping limestone 'karsts' soar hundreds of feet into the air across a vast region of southern China
  • Arches, spires and pillars were formed over 270million years and conceal some of the world's largest caves below
  • Landscape is being documented in unprecedented detail by a British-led team of cavers and explorers

  • Otherworldly: The landscape was formed by water in the humid region seeping in through cracks in porous rock and gradually opening up sinkholes, fissures and caves
    Rock sculpted by water
    Hewn ruthlessly from the earth by water over 270million years, these stone structures are a testament to the power of the natural world. 
     
    The pillars, arches and columns rise hundred of feet into the air over a vast region of southern China, striking awe into observers who have flocked to the area for thousands of years. 
     
    Known as karsts, the limestone structures - captured in these images for National Geographic Magazine - are created when water forces fissures, sinkholes, cracks and caverns into the soft rock, leaving only a series of monoliths above ground.
     
    China's Stone Forest is one of the largest, with huge arches which once belonged to cave systems but now protrude awkwardly above the lush green hills around.  Covering an estimated half a million square kilometres, south China's is one of the largest and most significant in the world.
     
    While limestone structures are common, only in a humid, tropical environment can there be enough movement of water to create such dramatic change, and form structures which have earned the South China Karst recognition as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. 
     
    But just as with an iceberg, what can be seen in these photographs is only the tip. The flowing water has not only carved up the landscape above the ground, but has also transformed it below. 
     
    South China is home to some of the largest caves in the world, which even now are still being mapped and explored by researchers from around the world.  Heading the charge is a team led by Andy Eavis, the chairman of the British Caving Association who has been traveling to China for more than 30 years.
     
    Read more and see additional National Geographic pictures
    And see also a diagram of China's Supercaves
     
    National Geographic - China Supercaves
    Tour the Miao Room’s 3-D model created from the laser scan.
     
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