Maqên Amne Machin Geopark, Qinghai

This geopark is located in Maqên County, Golog Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province. The geopark has an area of 1,783 km², and most of the geological features are concentrated in an area of 750 km². It became a national geopark in 2011. Glacial landforms are the main features of the geopark. The Amne Machin ice-capped peaks are majestic and splendid. There are 57 glaciers covering an area of 126 km². Among them, the Halong Glacier on the northeastern slope of Amne Machin is 7.7 km long and covers an area of 24 km². It is the longest and largest glacier along the Yellow River and has typical cirques, pyramidal peaks, arêtes, ice-scoured dams, glacial lakes and outwash fans. It illustrates the complete glacier development process, including ice and snow accumulation, glacier formation and movement at the source of the Yellow River. These features record the palaeo-climatic changes and geological evolution of western China and have high scientific value for research on the...