Chinese researchers report that they have discovered a great deal of stones believed to be relics of Quaternary period glaciers (dating 2.5 million years ago) in a Beijing suburb.

The stones, many measuring several meters high and with one to three leveled surfaces, were discovered in a 2-km-long valley in Miaofengshan Town, Mentougou District, about 100 kilometers west of downtown Beijing.

"They should all have been Quaternary period floating gravels," said discoverer Wang Hongjie. He is a senior engineer with the Beijing Municipal Hydrological and Geological Team.

According to Wang this is the first significant discovery of its kind in northern China due to the dense distribution of well-preserved glacial relics. Internationally, it's also a very rare find.

Geologists say this discovery will contribute to studies concerning ancient glaciers: how they formed and melted as well as their effects on the local climate.

Prior to this latest discovery, scientists had previously located three sites containing glacial relics in Beijing but these areas only had sporadically distributed relics, they reported.

(Xinhua News Agency July 30, 2007)