AN INTRODUCTION OF DANXIA LANDFORM RESEARCH IN CHINA AND A COMPARISON STUDY WITH SIMILAR EROSIONAL LANDFORMS IN THE COLORADO PLATEAU IN THE UNITED STATES

In China, Danxia landforms are erosional landforms that form mainly from uplifted, continental middle Mesozoic to early Cenozoic red beds. The term Danxia was first used to classify a specific stratigraphic sequence of conglomerate and sandstone that forms hoodoo peaks at Mt. Danxiashan in Southern China. Today, however, it has evolved into being considered an independent geomorphologic landform for research, and is defined as an erosional landscape developed in continental red beds and features an escarpment or cliff face. Over 80 years of surveying this phenomenon has led to more than 900 locations found to date. These landforms are spread widely across China but are densest in Southeast; Southwest; and Northwest China. Despite the developments of Danxia research, it is still largely unknown outside of China.

This study will present the history of Danxia research in China. Primary, peer-reviewed literature will be used to summarize important observations, characteristics, classification, development mechanisms and distribution of Danxia in China. Danxia landforms in China will be compared and contrasted to the well-studied and documented erosional landforms associated with red beds in the Colorado Plateau in the United States. Additional research will improve the scientific definition of the term Danxia and provide more precise quantification of erosion and weathering processes, and the influence of tectonic and neotectonic processes on their formation.