China's Red Sandstone Cliffs

Danxia landforms are red sandstone cliffs found across southeast, southwest and northwest China. The rock is mostly Cretaceous age.

Geologists call these formations pseudo-karst. The shapes mimic limestone terrain but the rock is sandstone and conglomerate.

Around 80 million years ago, sedimentation from lakes laid down red sandstone. Tectonic faults followed 15 million years later.

They remain isolated rather than forming deep networks.

About 23 Ma, Himalayan movement uplifted the Guangdong province topography. Weathering carved the steep cliffs visible today. The Himalayas rearranged the neighborhood.

In 1928, mineral scientist Feng Jinglan named the landform danxia. The term means vermilion sunglow in Chinese.

China Danxia entered the World Heritage List in 2010. Six inscribed areas cover 73,945 hectares.