The Qaidam Basin in northwest China's Qinghai Province is home to the longest yardang landform groups in the world. In Uygur, "yardang" means hills with steep walls. Most yardang landforms are found in extremely arid regions, but the Wusute Yardang landform on the water is an exception. 

The Wusute Yardang Geological Park consists of yardang landforms and Yahu Lake. The unique water yardang landform is formed as a result of rainfall from the mountains. A change in the Nalenggele River course submerged the yardang in water.

The yardang there used to be lake sediments of the late Tertiary and early Quaternary period. Due to the geologic uplift, the sediments surfaced and were gradually eroded by strong winds, forming the yardang landforms we see today. 

Read More:

China's unique water yardang landform

The lost paradise, a rare yardang landform on the water in East China

(All images via VCG. Edited by Zhao Ying.)

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