Nature has many strange and beautiful places waiting to be seen and enjoyed. Way too often, we don't even stop long enough to appreciate the beauty in our own yards, and that's too bad. Today I want you to see someplace almost impossible to describe to somebody that hasn't at least seen a picture!
Zhangye Danxia
The Zhangye Danxia Landform Geological Park is located in southwest China and contains more than a few unusual features. Probably the most startling are the multicolored mountains known as Danxia landforms. The surreal coloration comes from red sandstone and natural mineral deposits that have formed over the course of 24 million years. Each “stripe” constitutes a different mineral, and over the ages, they’ve formed layer upon layer, resulting in a rainbow pattern. Erosion from wind and rain has further polished the surfaces of the mountains.
China is the only place in the world with this type of mineral formation, and a few of the landforms have become UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The town of Zhangye has capitalized on the international interest in the Danxia landforms, and there are dozens of separate tour companies leading groups into the rainbow mountains.
Looks like a page right out of a coloring book, don't ya think? At the very least it resembles a very nice painting! Either way, it makes for a pleasant scene!
Coffee outside today. It should be a tad cooler than the 92 we had yesterday!
