The Zhangye Danxia landform | The Colorful Mountains of China

The Zhangye Danxia landform is also known as the eye candy of Zhangye. Many artists admire this masterpiece as it appears like a perfect painting on canvas. This 400-square-kilometer attraction is located in in Linze and Sunan counties in Gansu Province in central north China.

Zhangye danxia landform, colorful mountains

Research shows that about 100 million years ago there was a huge outdoor pool. Water carrying silt here from others. As a result of global high temperatures, the pool is dry and arid conditions in these sediment oxidized and took the color of rust. About 70 million years ago, the red layer 3,700 meters thick formed in the basin, known as the chalk bed. At the top was a solid layer of 1,300 meters thick layer of the Cretaceous period, which gradually formed from the mountain peaks dunks. [First Image credit — The Moon]

Zhangye Danxia Landform Geological Park, Gansu, China Image credit — Wei-Y

Since then, 30 million years ago, orogenic movement has changed the landscape of the pool a few times. Water flowing down through the cracks cut through and destroyed sedimentary rock carved slope, leaving behind red fragmental rocks. Now we see nothing but how landforms Danxia. According to experts, the formation of the mountain is still going on in the area, with an average increase of 0.87 meters every 10,000 years in the past 500,000 years.

Zhangye Danxia Landform is surrounded by colorful hills, which seem to rise and fall like waves: with rock strata of different colors mixed in graceful disarray, it is an imposing and magnificent sight. Image credit — loraineltai

The region is fast becoming a popular tourist attraction for the sleepy town of Zhangye. Set of boardwalks and roads were built to encourage visitors to explore the amazing rock formations and colored rocks. World Heritage Committee decided to include colored rocks Zhangye in UNESCO World Heritage List at its 34th meeting held in Brasilia, capital of Brazil, August 1, 2010.