The Spatial Structure Of Big Stone Forest Scenic Spot Preliminary Analysis

Covering some 350 square kilometers, the Stone Forest Geopark is located in Yi Nationality Autonomous County of Yunnan Province, 80 kilometers southwest of Kunming municipality, the provincial capital of Yunnan. The geopark is well known in the world as the featuring typical stone forest landform. In 2004 it was listed as a World Geopark by UNESCO.Since late Permian epoch,the Stone Forest has experienced four stages of development under favorable geological,climatic,and hydrological condition.The major types of development are subsoil erosion and dissolution by rainwater。The Major Stone Forest is located in the center of the geopark's sight-seeing areas,which is a conventional site that people can enjoy representative pinnacle karst.The main body of the Major Stone Forest is combination of pinnacle karst and structural features of associated depression. The depression looks like a funnel,sloping from east to west, and the diameter is ahout 600 meters.The area of the Major Stone Forest is 446636 square meters, the surface area is 714021 square meters, and the perimeter of huanlin road is 2884 meter. Detailed measuring by Total Station indicates that stone forest accounts for 55.5 percent of the whole areas, the hurst 21 percent, bunch grass 15.5 percent,lawn 5.8 percent,lakes 1.4 percent,and buildings 0.8% .Excellent pinnacle karst develope in the center of the depression.But in the edge, pinnacle karst become more and more shorter, as well as the column and irregular shapes develope in the mountain ridge. The dominant orientation of pinnacle karst is NW 30° ~60° where there are many dissolution corridors, open spaces as well as later built tourist routes. Further more, tourist routes is consistent with dissolution corridors.The 3D model of the Major Stone Forest, which is made by computer,intuitionisticly shows pinnacle karst and tourist routes.Detailed measuring and study indicate that the dominant orientations of the joints in the Major Stone Forest are NW 30° ~60° and NE 50° ~75.Through its incising the stratum, the joints control the structural feature of the Major Stone Forest in some extent.