Shilin-Type Stone Forest Landscape in Shilin County, Yunnan

This is a representative type of carbonate stone forest landscape. It is composed of the Permian Qixia Stage and Maokou Stage limestone and is represented by the Shilin Stone Forest in Yunnan Province. This stone forest is composed of bioclastic limestone with stone columns of various forms (sharp cones, swords, mushrooms, cylinders, forts and irregular shapes). The columns are generally more than 10 m high, and the highest are 50 m tall or more. Most are joined in clusters, but some are isolated. The column bases have the characteristics of subsurface karst corrosion. The upper columns, especially those at the top, have significant signs of rainwater erosion, such as vertical grooves and irregular rough surfaces. The edges of some vertical grooves are thin and sharp, like blades. This stone forest experienced two stages of subsurface karst dissolution and surface rainwash. This landform mainly formed in the Middle Pleistocene and was later exposed to erosion of the red earth,...