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Geological Formation

Stone Forest, Shilin

Karst Caves and Sinkholes

The Shilin Stone Forest, in Yunnan Province, China, is a dense cluster of gray limestone pinnacles, some rising more than 30 meters, that give the appearance of a petrified forest of stone trees, carved from limestone deposited in a shallow sea roughly 270 million years ago during the Permian period. Following tectonic uplift, the limestone was exposed to prolonged chemical weathering by slightly acidic rainwater, which dissolved the rock preferentially along vertical joints and fractures, gradually widening them into deep grooves and isolating the rock between them into closely spaced, tapering pillars, a karst process classified as pinnacle or stone-forest karst. The Stone Forest is regarded as one of the finest and most extensive examples of this karst type in the world and forms part of the South China Karst UNESCO World Heritage property.

Facts
Classification
Protected Status
UNESCO World Heritage Site 1
Connections

Associated With

Dolomite, Materials
Source Stone Forest (Wikipedia)
Limestone, Materials
Source Stone Forest (Wikipedia)
Permian, Eras
Source Stone Forest (Wikipedia)
Sandstone, Materials
Source Stone Forest (Wikipedia)

Caused By

Karstification, Processes
Source Stone Forest (Wikipedia)

In Discipline

Geomorphology, Disciplines
In the Other Atlases

Found In

China

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Sources
1. Stone Forest (Wikipedia)
  • Shilin Stone Forest section, World Heritage sentence
    Since 2007, two parts of the site, the Naigu Stone Forest (乃古石林) and Suogeyi Village (所各邑村), have been UNESCO World Heritage Sites as part of the South China Karst.
  • Associated With: Permian, Article text, age Permian
    Extensive deposits of sandstone overlain by limestone accumulated in this basin during the Permian period of geologic time.
  • Associated With: Limestone, Article text, rock Limestone
    The Major and Minor Stone Forests are developed in the nearly pure limestone of the Permian Makou Formation.
  • Associated With: Sandstone, Article text, rock Sandstone
    Extensive deposits of sandstone overlain by limestone accumulated in this basin during the Permian period of geologic time.
  • Associated With: Dolomite, Article text, rock Dolomite
    The Naigu Stone Forest, 9 km northeast of the Major Stone Forest, is developed in dolomite and dolomitic limestone of the Permian Qixia Formation.
  • Caused By: Karstification, Article text, process Karstification
    The distribution, density and orientation of the fractures controlled the depth, size and orientation of the karst topography.
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