Karst towers, the rocky formations by the Li river in China near Guilin, are truly natural wonders.
Below is the town of Guilin.
The following image is so striking, I had to check to make sure it was real. The story that goes with it makes it even more striking. Here’s a description by photographer Michael Anderson at his website. ” I wandered alone on the riverbanks and met a cormorant fisherman who showed me his traditional methods. They fish at night and the lantern attracts fish toward the raft so the cormorant can dive in and catch them. The fishermen tie a loose string around the cormorant’s neck so they can’t swallow it completely, and the men pull out the fish and store them in a basket. This method of fishing has existed for over a thousand years.
KARST TOPOGRAPHY
The Guilin tower karsts are an example of karst topography, land formations caused by rainwater combining with carbon dioxide in the air to become slightly acidic.
The acidic water works its way into any crack, fault or fissure in limestone rock and chemically erodes the rock. Over time, the openings caused by the acidic rain are widened into passages or caves and initial trickles of water become streams. Sometimes the cave ceiling collapses forming sinkholes or a cenotes.
The following are examples of the breathtaking variety of karst topography from images taken around the planet.
Viet Nam, Halong bay
Viet Nam
Viet Nam
Viet Nam
Viet Nam
Viet Nam
Karst Forest, Madagascar
Haiti Karst
Bryce Canyon Karst, Utah
El Torcal de Antequera, Spain
El Torcal de Antequera, Spain
Shilin, South China
Akiyoshidai Karst pinnacles in Mine, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan
Mammoth Cave, Kentucky, U.S.A.
Mammoth Cave is the longest cave in the world, with over 350 miles explored so far.
Corn karst, Chocolate Hills, Philippines
Australia, Nambung National Park
Sarisarinama sinkholes of Venezuela
Large sinkhole, Mitchell Plain, Indiana
Sinkholes, Winslow, Arizona, U.S.A.
The Zacatón cenote, Mexico
The “islands” in this cenote are made of floating reeds.
Thanks to Bukisa and DarkRoastedBlend
Thank you, Dusky, for yet another group of magnificent, stunning photos!
Wow! Oh, Dusky–these are marvelous! And I have learned another word–karst, and I never knew. The top photos of China are so wonderful…
Absolutely breathtaking, Dusky, thanks!
Hi Dusky these are wonder-ful. Awsome. Thanks for the few minutes to get away!
Thanks for bringing us to Guelin! It’s totally amazing, and really as beautiful and eerie and mystical as it looks. When I was there with my Dad in 1980, kept having to pinch myself to believe it actually looked like that. My parents read us a story when we were children , Ping the Duck, of a bird like the one you’ve included , with a duckling that was sent out to hunt fish with a choker, got called back to the boat with his ‘finds’, and spanked because he was late to come back home.
Those are truly wondrous. It looks like something out of a fairy tale!
Thanks!!
the world is beuateful end this is away to enjoy
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Crying beautiful
Thank you. I totally agree.
Thanks to the many photographers that brought the far away world to us that could not go. I am 91 now and I spend many hours a day traveling the world.
you have done it again Dusky – marvellous stuff