Stone Forest
Formation of sharp limestone pillars created by calcium carbonate dissolution
The Stone Forest or Shilin (Chinese: 石林; pinyin: Shílín) is a notable set of limestone formations about 500 km2 in area located in Shilin Yi Autonomous County, Yunnan, China. The forest is approximately 90 km (56 mi) east of the provincial capital Kunming.
The tall rocks appear to rise from the ground in a manner somewhat reminiscent of stalagmites, with many looking like petrified trees, thereby creating the illusion of a forest made of stone. Since 2007, two parts of the site, the Naigu Stone Forest (乃古石林) and Suogeyi Village (所各邑村), have been UNESCO World Heritage Sites as part of the South China Karst. The site is classified as a AAAAA-class tourist site.
Features
Shilin National Scenic Area (昆明市石林风景区) covers an area of 400 km2 (150 sq mi) and is divided into seven scenic areas:
Greater & Lesser Stone Forests (大小石林), also known as the Lizijing Stone Forest (李子菁石林)
Naigu Stone Forest (乃古石林)
Zhiyun Cave (芝云洞)
Lake Chang (长湖 literally Long Lake)
Lake Yue (月湖 literally Moon Lake)
Dadieshui Waterfall (大叠水瀑布)
Qifeng Cave (奇峰洞)
These formations, caused by the weathering of limestone, are believed to be over 270 million years old and are a tourist attraction for both overseas and domestic tourists, with bus tours bringing tourists from Kunming. There are also a number of hotels in the area.
Geology
The Stone Forest area was a shallow sea some 270 million years ago. Extensive deposits of sandstone overlain by limestone accumulated in this basin during the Permian period of geologic time. Uplift of this region occurred subsequent to deposition.
The public source identifies “Stone Forest” as formation of sharp limestone pillars created by calcium carbonate dissolution. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Stone, Forest and Formation.
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This entry incorporates text from “Stone Forest” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.