Songshan Mountain

Songshan Mountain

Songshan, known as "Waifang" in ancient times, was called "lofty" and "Chongshan" in Xia and Shang Dynasties, and "Yueshan" in Western Zhou Dynasty. Taking Songshan as the center, zuodai (Mount Tai) and Youhua (Mount Hua), Songshan was named Zhongyue (Mount Song). Songshan Mountain is located in the west of Henan Province, in the northwest of Dengfeng City, adjacent to the ancient capital Luoyang in the West and Zhengzhou in the East. It is between 112 ° 56 ′ 07 ″ - 113 ° 11 ′ 32 ″ E and 34 ° 23 ′ 31 ″ - 34 ° 35 ′ 53 ″ n.

The total area of Songshan Mountain is about 450 square kilometers. It is composed of Taishi mountain and Shaoshi mountain, with 72 peaks. The lowest altitude is 350 meters, and the highest altitude is 1512 meters. The main peak, Junji peak, is 1491.7 meters high in Taishi mountain, and the highest peak, liantian peak, is 1512 meters high in Shaoshi mountain. Songshan Mountain overlooks the Yellow River and Luoshui in the north, Yingshui and Jishan in the south, Zhengbian in the East and Luoyang in the West. It is an important barrier to the east of Luoyang, the ancient capital of the thirteen dynasties. It has a profound cultural heritage. It is the birthplace of Chinese Buddhism, the holy land of Taoism and the source of Kung Fu. Songshan was visited by more than 30 emperors and 150 famous scholars. In the book of songs, there is a famous saying that "song is only high, and precipitous to heaven".

Songshan Mountain is an important birthplace of Chinese civilization, as well as a famous scenic spot in China. In February 2004, it was listed as a World Geopark by UNESCO. In March 2007, Songshan was approved as a national AAAAA scenic spot by the National Tourism Administration. In August 2010, located in the hinterland of Songshan Mountain and the surrounding heaven and earth, the historical buildings (Shaolin Temple (often hospitalized, Chuzu nunnery, talin), sanque (taishique, shaoshique, Qimu que), Zhongyue temple, Songyue temple tower, Huishan temple, Songyang academy, and star watching platform) were listed as world cultural heritages.

geographical environment

geographical position

Songshan belongs to Funiu Mountain system, with Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan Province in the East, Luoyang, the ancient capital in the west, the Yellow River in the north and Yingshui in the south. Around the mountains across Xinmi, Dengfeng, Ruzhou, Gongyi, Yanshi, Yichuan and other cities and counties. The geographical coordinates are: 112 ° 56 ′ 07 ″ e to 113 ° 11 ′ 32 ″, 34 ° 23 ′ 31 ″ n to 34 ° 35 ′ 53 ″.

Climatic characteristics

Songshan has a north temperate monsoon climate with an average annual temperature of 14.3 ℃ and an average precipitation of 640.9 mm. The four seasons are distinct and have their own characteristics. In a year, July is the hottest with an average temperature of 27.3 ℃, and January is the coldest with an average temperature of 0.2 ℃.

The annual average temperature at the foot of Songshan Mountain is 14.3 ℃ and that at the top of Songshan Mountain is 8.5 ℃. The rainfall of last year is 864 mm.

geological structure

The geological structure of Songshan Mountain is famous at home and abroad for its ancient age, complex structure, well-developed strata, good exposure, and various forms of structural traces retained after many tectonic movements. The development and formation of Songshan Mountain is the product of internal and external geological processes in the long geological history (five geological ages: Archean, Proterozoic, Paleozoic, Mesozoic and Cenozoic).

The geological structure of Songshan Mountain is mainly composed of folds and a series of anticline syncline dome structures with nearly East-West strike. The fault is mainly NW-SE, which divides the Songshan area into three parts.

The bending of Songshan rocks is called folding. Including syncline and anticline. Under the action of tectonic movement, or under the action of low stress, rocks change the original occurrence of rock strata, not only make the rock strata tilt, but also most of them form various kinds of bending. Fold is the result of plastic deformation of rock strata and one of the basic forms of geological structures widely developed in the crust.

The fault structure with obvious displacement of Songshan block along the fault plane is called fault. The scale of faults varies from large to small, and the depth affected varies from deep to shallow (deep can cut through the lithosphere or crust, shallow can cut through the caprock or only on the surface); the age of formation varies from old to new; some are the result of one tectonic movement, some are the result of multiple tectonic movements; some are inactive, some are still active; the mechanical properties of forming faults are different, either tension or compression or shear Same as.

Songshan area is located in the south margin of North China platform and the southeast of Songji uplift, with clear stratigraphic sequence and well-developed basement and cap rocks.

The basement structure in Songshan area is dominated by folds, followed by faults. The structural line direction is nearly north-south or east-west, and the ne is slightly offset. It is composed of some dense, closed and complex syncline folds, and three groups of east-west, Southeast and near East-West faults generated with folds. The caprock structure is dominated by faults, followed by folds, folding first and then faulting. The direction of tectonic line is close to east-west and overlaps with basement structure orthogonally. The former is the earliest, divided into normal faults, and the latter is the latest. It has been active by stages, and its nature is more complex.

Geomorphological features

Songshan Mountain is a fault block folded mountain composed of pre Sinian ancient schist, gneiss and quartzite, so the mountain is steep and magnificent, forming a distinctive landform of tectonic erosion in low and middle mountain. The topography of Songshan Mountain is complex, including mountains, hills, basins, valleys and plains. The main parts of Mount Song are Taishi and Shaoshi, which are mountainous in appearance.

Evolutionary history

Songshan has a complete rock evolution, with Archean, Proterozoic, Paleozoic, Mesozoic and Cenozoic strata and rocks exposed. It is called "five generations in one hall" by geological circles (in the history of earth development, it is commonly known as "five generations in one hall" through Archean, Proterozoic, Paleozoic, Mesozoic and Cenozoic). The outcrops of magmatic rocks, sedimentary rocks and metamorphic rocks in Songshan area constitute the oldest rock series in China, dengfengduoyan. There are not only marine fossils, but also terrestrial fossils and Paleovertebrate fossils in Songshan. These paleontological fossils are valuable data for geological and paleontological evolution.

According to the investigation of Chinese and foreign geologists, in the ancient Archean period, Songshan was an endless sea; after the "Songyang movement" of 2.3 billion years ago, "Zhongyue movement" of 800 million years ago, "Shaolin movement" of 500 million to 600 million years ago, and three major crustal movements, it gradually formed mountains, ended the Proterozoic era in geological history, and entered the Cambrian and Ordovician of Paleozoic era After about 200 million years, the crust rose above sea level, and the coal bearing strata in Songshan area were formed due to weathering and denudation. Around 2300 million years ago, another crustal movement took place in the territory of China for a long time. The "Yanshan movement" occurred in the vast areas of North and south. The Songshan area was pushed by the north and south direction, forming today's mountain landscape.

In less than 20 square kilometers, the Songshan mountain clearly preserves the remains of three tectonic movements which took place in 2.3 billion, 1.8 billion and 570 million years ago. The unconformity contact surface is clear and the metamorphic deformation remains are colorful. Within 400 square kilometers, Archean, Proterozoic, Paleozoic, Mesozoic and Cenozoic magmatic rocks, metamorphic rocks and sedimentary rocks are continuously and completely exposed. The geological phenomena of the five periods are fully exposed in Songshan Mountain, which is called "five generations together" in geology. Professor Ma Xingyuan's theory of "gravity sliding structure" was founded in the Songshan Mountains, where all kinds of sliding traces have typical systematic display. Songshan Mountain is favored by the world for its rich geological connotation. Looking at the Five Dynasties geology of Songshan Mountain is like looking through a geological history. The outcrops of magmatic rocks, sedimentary rocks and metamorphic rocks in Songshan area constitute the oldest rock image in China - "Dengfeng Duoyan" of Dengfeng group.

The rocks of Songshan Mountain are complex, mainly quartzite. According to geologists' research, the basement rocks of Songshan Mountain were formed in the early stage of the earth's development. They may be the products of a large number of volcanic and magmatic activities at that time. When these rocks were formed, the oxygen content in the air on the earth's surface was very low, which may be similar to the surface conditions of many planetary bodies, so they are not suitable for living things. So far, no trace of any living things of that time has been found among them.

About 2.3 billion years ago, there was a violent movement in the crust of Songshan Mountain, which geologists call "Songyang movement". After the Songyang movement, the crust began to sink below the sea level and received the deposition of the thick Songshan group. This process has gone through more than one billion years. Since 2009, the thickness of the Songshan group has reached more than 2100 meters, some of which may have been lost due to the rise and fall of the crust, weathering and denudation, etc. this period belongs to the early Proterozoic in the geological history. At this time, the earth's most primitive organisms such as bacteria and algae slowly began to form, and some primitive animals began to appear in the later period.

Around 1.8 billion years ago, the crust changed again, and the thick quartz sandstone began to rise slowly and fold into mountains. The pushing force of this crustal movement came from the east-west direction, so the strata of Songshan group were pushed into folds close to the north-south direction. Fold action is very strong, and some rock layers are even squeezed upright. This can be seen in the south of Taishi mountain and Shaoshi mountain. This crustal movement is called "Zhongyue movement". Some faults occurred during the Zhongyue movement.

After the Zhongyue movement, the earth's crust was gradually flattened and lowered. At first, it was conglomerates with coarse grains, then conglomerates and mudstones, and then limestone with calcium and magnesium. This shows that the earth's crust here began to be submerged by sea water. It was not until 500-600 million years ago that the "Shaolin movement" ended the Proterozoic era in geological history and entered the Paleozoic era. Evidence of this movement can be seen on the southern hillside of Shaolin Temple. The location of Shaolin Temple represents a turning point in geological history. In front of the temple is the Proterozoic strata, and the temple's bottom is the upper part

Chinese PinYin : Song Shan