Karst Mountain Topography — Yangshuo – GE9 — Geocache of the Week

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A secret view on the way to the top of the lookout. Photo by teamAlje
A secret view on the way to the top of the lookout. Photo by teamAlje

Geocache Name:

Yangshuo – GE9 (GC32N82) by Golem team

Location:

Yangshuo, China
N 24° 46.665 E 110° 29.127

Difficulty/Terrain Rating:

D1.5/T2.5

Why this is Geocache of the Week:

It’ll take a bit of a climb—and maybe an international flight—to reach this EarthCache, but rare is the geocacher who regrets it. This EarthCache takes you on a short hike above the city of Yangshuo in northern China. The area is known for its dramatic karst mountains, which are the focus of this cache’s earth science lesson. Karst mountains are striking and easily recognizable. The isolated, steep-sided limestone hills are typically surrounded by flat plains. They’re formed when mildly acidic water begins to dissolve weak, soluble bedrock, creating fractures and openings in the rock which deepened over time.

Or, as the Cache Owner puts it in words we can all understand:

“In the beginning there was a huge limestone plate. Like a chocolate table on the desk. There are movements of tectonic plares in the earth’s crust and the table was broken to pieces. Imagine the table of chocolate divided to pieces as if you want to eat it.
Next the water from rain and rivers come. If you put water on chocolate it will start to dissolve it and flow parts of it away. The holes and openings become bigger and after some time most chocolate is out. The same as here. The rests of limstone’s plate are karst hills and mogules of different shapes.
You can ask why the water did not make a deep canyon – the bedrock is too hard. The water took the chocolate, but the desk remained the same. The end of the story is sad – after some time there will be no chocolate at all. But here in Yangshou it is a question of many million years.” -Golem team

What geocachers have to say:

“During our China trip we also visited Yangshuo. A beautiful place with lovely mountains which are lighted during the evening. Together with CaliburnNL we found this earthcache it was a challenge to climb this mountain. Not the climbing was the problem, but finding the start of the climbing. After climbing we had a beautiful view and were able to answer the questions. Team Golem TFTC. mnmjwe from the Netherlands.” –mnmjwe

“We spent two weeks in China. The landscape around Yangshuo is fantastic. My family wasn’t glad that I left them alone in the park while climbing up the hill (especially because they didn’t know that I had to go up). But it was worth. The answers I sent to the owner. And I would like to leave a favorite point. Thanks!” –alpinpoet

“Today we (my youngest son AO99) ans I decided to climb the hill instead of shopping together with the others in our tourist group. A good choice to my mind. The climbing was a bit sweaty (36 degrees C and moisture about 90%) but worth every step. A gegorgeousiew was our salary for this exercise. Unfortunately was my GPS unreadable because of the chineese text in the description, but I think I have managed to answer all the questions, even if there was a small misunderstanding. This cache is a clear favourite to me and FP added! Thank´s for all the work you have done to create this cache! And greetings from Sweden.” –benke.olsson

Photos:

 

Photo by JanSimona
Photo by JanSimona

 

Photo by geotooter
Photo by geotooter

 

Photo by ohnny_cache11
Photo by ohnny_cache11

 

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Photo by monotard

 

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Photo by Heidi28

 

Photo by Tielk
Photo by Tielk

 

Continue to explore some of the most amazing geocaches around the world. Check out all of the Geocaches of the Week on the Geocaching blog. If you would like to nominate a Geocache of the Week, fill out this form.

Alex is a Community Volunteer Support Coordinator at Geocaching HQ. When things get crazy, she sends in the big puns.