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Name : Rainbow mountains
Location : Zhangye Danxia National Geopark , Gansu , China
China’s Rainbow Mountains were born around the same time as the Himalayas.
Coordinates:38.96080921027964 , 100.07034421783024
Why it ’s incredible : The mountains ' fold up tilt forge stunning rainbow pattern .
As the name suggests , China ’s Rainbow Mountains are multicolored formations in the northwest of the state . The landscape painting in this area is otherworldly , with vibrant bands that look like they were spray - painted onto the rocks .
The mountains are made of mineral-rich sandstone and siltstone.
The Rainbow Mountains are site in the foothills of the rugged Qilian mountains and likely formed around the same time as the Himalayas , roughly 50 million age ago , according toNASA ’s Earth Observatory . nation that was once relatively flat was thud up and fold up into scraggy terrain when the Indian architectonic plate collided with the Eurasiatic plate . This was because these home plate have a alike stone density , so neither could splay beneath the other to make asubduction geographical zone , according to theU.S. Geological Survey(USGS ) .
But the basis for the mountains ' rainbow pattern was laid long before the epic collision .
come to : Massive tectonic hit make Himalayas to grow may also be split Tibet asunder
The Rainbow Mountains are made of sandstone and siltstone — aqueous rocks that form when sand and silt , severally , are compacted and cement together over recollective periods of time . These rocks — with their bands of different colors — were fix before the Himalayas form .
The colourful stria are the result of branding iron and other trace mineral in the endocarp . Each band has a different composition that determines its paint . For example , the deep red-faced stripes are racy in iron oxide , the yellowed layer contain abundant iron sulphide and the green striation book more chlorite and iron silicates , consort to a 2016 article inForbes .
branding iron and other mineral accumulated in the rock while the sand and silt grain were still cement together . Groundwater circulating in the pore space between the grain stick the minerals , coating each grain and further gluing the stone together .
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The slanted bands we see on the flanks of the Rainbow Mountains today are retrousse layers that would have remained buried and horizontal had the Amerindic and Eurasian home plate not dash into each other . The bunching of the land by plate tectonics was followed by intense erosion , which wiped away any deposit covering the colorful layers . Luckily for modern visitors , there is no flora to obscure the outstanding rainbow pattern .
The Rainbow Mountains are a democratic tourist draw . They are protect as part of the Zhangye Danxia National Geopark , but visitor can mount to the top of the hills and look up to the view using wooden stair and platforms .
Discover moreincredible places , where we highlight the fantastic history and science behind some of the most dramatic landscape on Earth .
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