Travertine Pool in Hengduan Mountain-- A masterpiece of hydrosphere material cycle

Jiuzhaigou-Shuzheng Qunhai

Cahuabian stone dam color pool is one of the main forms of travertine deposition. When the local surface water flows on a gentle slope, it is blocked by dead branches and leaves, and the flow velocity changes abruptly, which leads to the poor deposition rate of calcium carbonate and the formation of calcium flake stone dam color pool landscape. Cahuabian stone dam color ponds often appear in groups, with layers and beautiful lines, which is a fantastic scene of water color.

Since the 1980s, a rare travertine landscape zone has been found on the eastern edge of the Hengduan Mountains on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, which starts from Jiuzhaigou in northwest Sichuan to Baishuitai in Shangri-La County, Yunnan Province. across Minshan, Qionglai Mountain, Gongga Mountain and Haba Snow Mountain, it is hundreds of kilometers long, forming numerous travertine beaches, travertine ponds and travertine waterfalls, leaving behind a string of attractive names. Jiuzhaigou, Shenxianchi, Munigou, Karonggou, Yulong West.

Jiuzhaigou

Jiuzhai ditch

Jiuzhaigou is a landmark landscape in Sichuan. In the wide valleys reformed by ancient glaciers, the "cascading lakes and waterfalls" are amazing. Jiuzhaigou has a unique "Jiuzhai Blue", which benefits from the karst effect here. Carbonate is widely distributed in Jiuzhaigou area, large-scale travertine deposits have been developed, and travertine attached deposits have formed pool lake dike walls. With the passage of time, travertine piled up layer by layer, forming ladder-like travertine lakes along the wide valley of glaciers.

The overflow and discharge of the current forms tall waterfalls or cascading falls, coupled with the moss and algae in the lake, the lake becomes colorful, creating a colorful and unique landscape of Jiuzhaigou. Among them, Chawa, Rize and Shuzheng are three ditches, alpine travertine lakes, waterfalls and beach streams are distributed in groups, with huge scale, various landscape types, rich quantity, magnificent shape, fantastic color and exquisite layout, which is rare in the world.

Huanhuanglong ditch

Huanglong ditch

Huanglong is adjacent to Jiuzhaigou, and these two world-class landscapes are always accompanied by pictures. Because of the super popularity and popularity of Jiuzhaigou, Huanglong in a corner of Jiuzhaigou is more or less secondary and is often regarded as a "slightly" scenery by tourists. In fact, Huanglong has a completely different landscape of Jiuzhaigou. If Jiuzhaigou is rare in the world, then Huanglong is unique. If the sea of Jiuzhaigou is a succession of marvels, then Huanglong's colorful ladder pool is a colorful dream.

Huanglong travertine is mainly distributed in Huanglong Gully, which is a U-shaped glacier valley formed by ancient glaciers. The giant surface travertine is distributed along the ditch, stretching 3600 meters, the largest travertine beach is 1300 meters long, and there are more than 3400 color ponds. It is the most spectacular open-air travertine pool group in the world.

The Immortal Pool

Immortal pool

The Tibetan name of Shenxianchi is "Nen Sangcuo", which means the place where fairies bathe. The travertine on the surface of Shenxianchi is distributed in a wide valley about 3 kilometers long, surrounded by forest and sea. In addition to the travertine landscape, the standard model of travertine precipitation can be clearly seen here, which can be called the experimental base for studying the formation mechanism of travertine.

Lianhuatai section is a group of early edge rock dam and color pond shape, there are dozens of side stone dam, showing 3 or 4 echelon arrangement, its shape is unique, the tone is rich.

The Fairy Pool scene section has three huge color ponds in succession at an altitude of 3030 meters, almost occupying the bottom of the valley. Among them, the upper color pool is called "Fairy Pool", the middle part is called "Liantai Yingcai", and the lower pool is called "Qinglonghai".

The scenic section of "gold flow flooding wave" is composed of edge stone dam and color pond, travertine flow and travertine waterfall, in which the water pattern on travertine flow has its own characteristics.

Qimuni ditch

Mooney groove

If Huanglong ditch is the travertine landscape of puberty, then Muni ditch is the travertine in the twilight. The change of travertine migration channel and the decrease of calcium carbonate concentration in water may cause the interruption of travertine deposition.

Munigou is divided into two parts: Zaga Waterfall and Erdahai. Erdahai is a narrow mountain gully with a length of 5 kilometers, which is characterized by karst sinkholes, wells and lakes, among which there are a large number of karst collapsing lakes, such as Dingjing Sea, Swan Lake, Baihua Sea, Rhino Sea and Erdaohai, just like pearl jade hidden dense forest.

Zaga Waterfall is known as "the first travertine waterfall in China". It is not only a liquid waterfall formed by running water, but also a solid waterfall deposited by travertine. The waterfall is 93.2 meters high and 35 meters wide, with a lake upstream and a series of stepped travertine deposits below. The lake overflowed the top of the cliff at a speed of 23 meters per second, falling down from hundreds of layered travertine ridges, the waves lapping on the shore, the jade flying snow, the majestic sound, ten miles in the ear.

What is more amazing is that the waterfall water at the bottom of the waterfall gathers in a group of travertine ponds, which tumbles down from a circular travertine dam stacked like fish scales, and then falls into layers of circular waterfalls, with beads and jade strings, making it a spectacle.

Jiaokalong ditch

Kalon groove

Kalong ditch originated from the mountain peak in Aldi, and the stream sometimes underflows, sometimes exposed to the surface, forming a large-scale surface travertine in the ditch. The travertine accumulation form of Kalong ditch is the most characteristic, with a six-step distribution from top to bottom, and each travertine platform is hung with a waterfall. A number of travertine pools with different shapes and exquisite structures are hidden deep in the forest or overflowing with gold between travertine beach and pineapple bushes.

Travertine in Kalonggou is always associated with moss. In the edge of the color pool, in the woods, in the flooded slope, these warm and soft "elves" grow wantonly, weaving pieces of colorful blankets, contrasting with the golden travertine, and achieving the unique "mossy travertine world" in Kalong ditch.

Xie Yulong West

Yulong West

The west of Yulong is located on the west slope of Gongga Mountain, and the travertine beach current is developed in the Moricha Gully on the west side of the Yulong West River. In the area with an elevation of 3890-4250 meters above sea level, travertine accumulation is "overwhelming" to form a travertine accumulation layer which is 2135 meters long, 285-650m wide and covers an area of 1.4square kilometers.

The travertine platform is divided into eight steps from bottom to top, with a white surface resembling a winding white dragon. The colorful ponds on it are colorful and dazzling like dragon scales. There are more than 200 travertine pools in the west of Yulong, forming three groups, including jadeite pool, Yushu pool and bonsai pool from bottom to top. Due to the multi-color algae growing in the water and the green and fluffy moss growing by the pond, the travertine in the west of Yulong is more beautiful and colorful from the air.

Not only that, the growth of moss also affects the intensity direction of karst development. Because its metabolite is one of the driving forces of karst dynamic system, and karst environment is conducive to the stable growth and reproduction of moss. Such an environment provides conditions for the growth of aquatic animals called small salamanders, which lie quietly at the bottom of the travertine pool, adding a