In the pattern of China's mountain system, the longest series of mountains in the north-east-south-west trend, from north to south, are the Daxing'an Mountains, Taihang Mountains, Wushan Mountains, Xuefeng Mountains, etc., which constitute the boundary mountains of the second and third tiers of China's topography. One of the smaller ones is Wushan.
The Yangtze River, China's largest river, flows from west to east, and when it passes through the front edge of the second ladder, it cuts through Wushan, which runs north-east-south-west. Since then, China has had the world-famous natural wonders of the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River.
Historically, "Wushan" is generally used to refer to the entire "Three Gorges of the Yangtze River", not only the mountainous area where Wushan County (belonging to Chongqing City) is located.
Compared with other large mountain ranges in the same column, Wushan Mountain (non-Wushan County) has the smallest volume, the shortest extension, and the direction of the mountain range is not very obvious, and it is even difficult to call it a "mountain range".
However, it is this "short" mountain range, because of its unique geological and geographical location, of course, inseparable from the strong shaping of the main stream of the Yangtze River, which has created many world-renowned natural wonders, not only the "Three Gorges".
The geological and geomorphological outlines of the Wushan area can be clearly seen in the satellite map. It is located at the intersection of two arc-shaped mountains in the north and south.
Wuling Mountain in the south and Daba Mountain in the north. Wushan is also a transitional mountain range between Wuling Mountain and Daba Mountain, and it is not an independent mountain range with a distinct outline.
The positional relationship and contour in the geomorphological pattern reflect the geological origin of Wushan as a transitional mountain range.
The relationship between the location of Wushan and the adjacent mountains is illustrated.
Tectically, Wushan is located between the Wuling Mountains on the northern margin of the South China Plate and the Daba Mountains on the southern margin of the Qinling Orogenic Belt.
To put it simply, the Qinling Orogenic Belt is formed by the north-south collision and extrusion of the South China Plate and the North China Plate. The northern margin of the South China Plate, where the Wuling Mountains are located, and the Daba Mountains on the southern margin of the Qinling Orogenic Belt are squeezing each other in the crustal movement. At the same time, the western part is blocked by the Sichuan Basin (plate).
Therefore, in the northeast margin of the Sichuan Basin, an arc-shaped fold belt was formed in the north and south, namely the eastern Sichuan arc fold belt and the Daba Mountain arc fold belt. At the intersection of the eastern margin of the two arc-shaped fold belts, tectonic action and orogenic uplift are superimposed, forming complex anticline and anticlinal structures, which are further shaped into continuous gorges, deep valleys and strange peaks.
This is Wushan, a mountain formed by the collision and extrusion of Wuling Mountain and Daba Mountain.
The main stream of the Yangtze River runs from west to east, which happens to strongly erode the north-east-south-west tectonic valley of Wushan (including the eastern edge of the parallel valley in eastern Sichuan), thus forming the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River, namely Qutang Gorge, Wuxia and Xiling Gorge World Wonders.
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In the same area, there is also the Daning River, a first-class tributary of the Yangtze River, and its tributaries, which are strongly eroded and cut downward, forming geological and geomorphological wonders such as gorge groups on more tributaries.
The most representative spectacle is the Little Three Gorges and the Little Three Gorges of Wushan. "Small" is relative to the Great Three Gorges.
Small mountain gorges. Among the many "Three Gorges", the first gorge of the Yangtze River, Qutang Gorge (including the White Emperor City), the Little Three Gorges of Wushan and the Little Three Gorges are all 5A-level scenic spots. There are more than "gorges" in the scenic area, and there are many strange peaks and strange stones.
The 12 peaks of Wushan are the representative works of Wushan's geomorphological wonders. Including Shennu Peak, Cuiping Peak, Chaoyun Peak, Songluan Peak, Jixian Peak and so on. Among them, the Goddess Peak is particularly amazing, and it is the most of all the peaks.
Wushan Goddess Peak (4a).
Speaking of Wushan, you can't leave Shennongjia. It is located at the junction of Wushan Mountain and Daba Mountain, which not only preserves the original ecological environment that is rare in China, but also distributes many karst landforms and glacial landform wonders. The Shennongjia World Heritage Site includes Wulipo in Wushan County. It is a natural wonder for the Wushan area.
Shennongjia World Heritage Wulipo District (Chongqing).
Shennong Creek. There is also Shennongxi Scenic Area (5A) on the south slope of Shennongjia, the cliffs on both sides are steep, the water gorge is narrow and secluded, the stream is tortuous, the floodplain is continuous, and the wonders of the river beach peaks and valleys are dizzying. Although it does not belong to Wushan in the narrow sense, it is also a wonder and beauty of the same geographical unit.
This is Wushan, Wuling Mountain and Daba Mountain collide, and the Yangtze River is also the key protagonist, creating a gathering place of world wonders, which can be called the world tourist resort of Dawushan.