China... caution... beautiful photos.

[bluemtn]

Those were great pictures, thanks for sharing! Lisa- just think of warm, happy thoughts!

 

[Makalakumu]

Those photos strike me as a wonderful example of Late Karst Topography. Carbonic and other natural acids present in rainfall, slowly work their way into fractures in the limestone bedrock and begin to dissolve the rock it touches. Over thousands, sometimes millions, of years, the action of this water creates the caves that MAcaver so loves to play in. Over time, this process continues, until the caves themselves collapse and a new type of topography. In the LOTR movie, when Aragorn enters the Caves of the Dead, this is an example of what I'm talking about. As time continues to wear on, the sharp and jagged features of late-intermediate karst wear away to the pillars that are present in China's topography. Nice pics. I may use some of them in my geology class if you don't mind.