The Wulong Karst is located at Wujiang River downriver of
Southeastern Chongqing, and it includes three karst systems of
Sanqiao Natural Bridges, Furong Jiang karst gorge and caves round,
and Houping erosion tiankengs, which are distributed in mid-north,
southeast and northeast of Wulong County respectively. It consists
of gorges, natural bridges, tiankengs, caves, shafts subterranean
streams and resurgences, developing in the carbonate rocks of
Cambrian-Ordovician systems and Permian-Triassic systems.
The macro-landform in this terrain is featured by two-leveling
mountain planes with elevations of 1800-2000m and 1200-1500m and
deep-cut gorges. The three karst systems lie in the bank,
interfluve and headstream of Wujiang River branches respectively;
and they formed an interrelated integrity for its developing
successively and distributing in sequence.
Wujiang River is one of big tributaries of Yangtze River, with a
section of 79km long in Wulong and an incised depth of one
kilometer. It influenced intensely the development of its branches
such as Furong Jiang, Yangshui He, Muzong He geomorphic systems,
for its continuous river incising and vadose zone increasing since
the tertiary, and it is the main dynamic genesis of Wulong
Karst.
The Wulong Karst records vividly the unique characters of gorge,
cave and tiankeng karst development and evolvement under the
intermittence tectonic uplifting conditions in Three Gorges area
since Cenozoic era for 65Ma, representing major stages of earth
evolutionary history.
Big Events of Wulong Karst:
May 1993-Furong Dong was discovered;
May 1994-Furong Dong show cave was opened;
Since 1994-Approximately 100km long cave passages have been
surveyed by cavers from over ten countries;
March 2001-Qingkou tiankeng as erosion tiankeng type was discovered
by Prof. Zhu Xuewen;
October 2003-Wulong Karst was ratified National Geopark of China by
Ministry of Land and Recourses;
January 2006-Wulong Karst, as a part of South China Karst, applied
for world natural heritage.
(China.org.cn)