Datong earth forest: A natural masterpiece in N China
In north China's Shanxi Province is a forest without any leaves, branches, or vegetation at all. Instead, pillars of rock, carved out by the elements, form what scientists call an earth forest, resembling trees jutting from the ground.
The Datong earth forest, the only in the region, is a masterpiece of nature, despite the desolate landscape it inhabits. Near the Sanggan River in the Datong Basin, this particular earth forest, now a desert, used to be a lake many millennia ago.
Weathering and erosion, along with shifting of the Earth's crust, has yielded a striking collection of earthen columns and walls. The formation is one of the many unique landscapes found in China.
(Cover image: A view of Datong earth forest, Shanxi Province, north China. /VCG Photo)
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