Stone Forest
The Stone Forest is situated
in the Lunan Yu Autonomous County 126 kilometers
southeast of Kunming. A typical karst formation,
the Stone Forest covers an area of more than three
hundred square kilometres. Scientific research
has shown that what is now the Stone Forest was
270 million years ago an immense expanse of water
with a vast stretch of limestone sediment formed
over the years on the seafloor. As a result of
the crustal movement, the seabed rose gradually
and a large piece of land thus came into being.
Exposed to rains and winds, eroded by the elements,
the thrtist-up limestone ranges were shaped bv
time. About 200 million vears ago numerous stone
peaks, pillars, and stalagmites rose abruptly
from the ground and towered into the sky, extending
now as far as the eye can see, looking like a
vast forest of stone, hence the name "the
Stone Forest".
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