Zhangye Danxia National Geological Park, China
The Zhangye Danxia National Geological Park is located in the northern foothills of the Qilian Mountains, in the counties of Linze and Sunan, which are administered by the prefecture-level city of Zhangye, Gansu province, China.
Danxia landforms cover an area of 322 sq km. The site became a quasi-national geopark on Apr 23, 2012.
Zhangye Danxia is known for the unusual colors of the rocks, which are smooth, sharp, and several hundred meters tall. They result from deposits of sandstone and other minerals over 24 million years. The result was tilted by the action of the same tectonic plates responsible for creating parts of the Himalayas. Wind, rain, and time then sculpted unique shapes, including towers, pillars, and ravines, with varying colors, patterns, and sizes.
About 540 million years ago, this area was once part of the ocean. Due to tectonic plate collision, the land folded, formed mountains, and lifted above sea level. Red sandstone was deposited when rivers formed in the area. When the ground sank into a basin, mudstone was deposited on the red sandstone. During different periods, varying sedimentary rocks contained various amounts of ferrous salt in the mud and stone. This is why the layers have different colors. Because of the changes in the sedimentary environments, the sedimentary layers formed have different colors - red, purplish red, yellowish green, grayish green, and gray. Every layer took thousands of years to form.
The movement of the Himalayas lifted the Danxia landforms higher, and rivers formed. River erosion formed gorges, creating the early Danxia landscape. After further geological periods, river and wind erosion formed the colorful layers we see today.
