Heshigten or Hexigten Global Geopark (, ''kè shí kè téng shì jiè dì zhì gōng yuán'') is a UNESCO Global Geopark in Hexigten Banner,

Chifeng Chifeng ( zh, s=赤峰市), also known as Ulanhad ( mn, (Улаанхад хот), ''Ulaɣanqada qota'', , "red cliff"), is a prefecture-level city in Southeastern Inner Mongolia, People's Republic of China. It borders Xilin Gol League to the ...

city,

Inner Mongolia Inner Mongolia, officially the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. Its border includes most of the length of China's border with the country of Mongolia. Inner Mongolia also accounts for a ...

, China. Its 1,750 km² area is contained in eight separate areas of scenic beauty and geologic significance, including volcanic, glacial, and desert features. The park was designated a National Geopark of China by the

Ministry of Land and Resources The Ministry of Land and Resources (MLR) of the People's Republic of China is a dissolved ministry under the jurisdiction of the State Council of China. It was formally responsible for the regulation, management, preservation and exploitation ...

on December 10, 2001, and as a World Geopark by

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

on February 11, 2005.

Geography

The park is situated in Heshigten Banner, 210 km northwest of the urban area of Chifeng City and 400 km north of Beijing. It lies at the convergence of several geographic regions: the

Greater Khingan The Greater Khingan Range or Da Hinggan Range (; IPA: ), is a -long volcanic mountain range in the Inner Mongolia region of Northeast China. It was originally called the Xianbei Mountains, which later became the name of the northern branch of th ...

Mountains to the east, the

Yan Mountains The Yan Mountains, also known by their Chinese name Yanshan, are a major mountain range to the north of the North China Plain, principally in the province of Hebei. The range rises between the Chaobai River on the west and the Shanhai Pass on ...

to the south, and the Hunshandake Sandland to the southwest. The collision belt of the North China Platform and the Xingmeng Geosyncline also runs through Hexigten. The eight park areas are scattered throughout the area, sampling glacial, volcanic, desert, and hydrological land forms of scenic beauty and geological significance. Altogether, the park covers 1,750 km² out of Hexigten Banner's total area of 20,673 km².

Park areas

Arshihaty granite forest

The Arshihaty granite forest (, from Mongolian "steep peaks") in northern Hexigten Banner is a "forest" of stone columns created by frost splitting, freezing and thawing cycles, and erosion by wind. The granite columns are unusual in their strong horizontal segmentation. Five scenic areas in the granite forest are nicknamed the ''moon castle'' (月亮城堡), ''sworn brothers'' (桃园结义), ''eagle with folded wings'' (雄鹰敛翅), ''fortress besieged'' (围城), and ''live folk entertainment'' (民俗生活娱乐).

Qingshan granite mortars

The Qingshan granite mortars area () is a landscape of glacial potholes similar to

giant's kettle A giant's kettle, also known as either a giant's cauldron, moulin pothole, or glacial pothole, is a typically large and cylindrical pothole drilled in solid rock underlying a glacier either by water descending down a deep moulin or by gravel r ...

s. These are round pits in the rock, formed by whirlpool-like swirling water during the

Quaternary period The Quaternary ( ) is the current and most recent of the three periods of the Cenozoic Era in the geologic time scale of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS). It follows the Neogene Period and spans from 2.58 million years ...

. The two-square-kilometer area contains over 300 potholes ranging in size from 50 cm to a few meters, with shapes resembling pots, jars, spoons, buckets, and basins.

Dali Nur volcanic landscape

Dali Nur (Chinese 达里诺尔 or 达来诺尔) is a lake in the western part of Hexigten Banner, with several park areas near its shores. The Dali Nur volcanic group (达里诺尔火山群) lies on the northwest shore. Volcanic features include a basalt plateau and the large "plugs" of extinct volcanos, which once formed islands in the lake when water levels were higher. The plugs are now isolated hills.

Huanggangliang Quaternary glacial remnant

Mount Huanggangliang is the highest peak in the

mountain range, with a peak at 2029 m. Above 1500–1700 m there are "island-like' permafrost areas, remaining from the last glaciation.

Reshuitang thermal springs

The park includes a mineral hot spring bath area at Reshuitang (热水塘) in the eastern part of Hexigten.

Pingdingshan scenic Quaternary cirque group

The Pingdingshan (平顶山) glacial cirques are remnants of the Quaternary, in the southeast part of Hexigten Banner. The existence of cirques and other Quaternary glacial features in Hexigten are importance evidence of the glacial history of northern China.

Xilamulun River canyon

The Xar Moron River (, Xilamulun) flows to the northeast through Hexigten Banner. The vicinity of the Xar Moron was the original homeland of the Khitan people. In the southwest of Hexigten, the river forms a deep "grand canyon" which is included as one of the park areas.

Hunshandak sand land

Hunshandake Sandland () is one of the four largest sand lands in China, covering an area of 53,000 km². It is an ecologically sensitive region, undergoing rapid desertification because of

overgrazing Overgrazing occurs when plants are exposed to intensive grazing for extended periods of time, or without sufficient recovery periods. It can be caused by either livestock in poorly managed agricultural applications, game reserves, or nature res ...

: from the 1960s to 2000, the fraction of Hunshandake occupied by sand dunes increased from 2% to 33%. The sandland park area with its dunes is located in the part of Hunshandake on the south shore of Dali Nur.

References

External links

Chifeng City map

home page at Global Geoparks Network
Hexigten Geopark Official Site
* {{authority control Parks in Inner Mongolia National parks of China Protected areas established in 2001 Global Geoparks Network members Geoparks in China Chifeng