A new type of geological-geomorphological landscape: The Baishi Mountain marble structural "peak forest" (hoodoos) and its Origin

Baishi (which means white rock in Chinese)Mountain at Laiyuan County,Hebei Province,is tectonically located on the western margin of the NNE-trending Taihangshan deep fault zone.It shows a double-layered structure,with Yanshanian granites as its"base"and dolomitic marble of the Mesopro-terozoic Wumishan Formation as the"top",forming a gigantic pendent.In fact,the mountain is a"safety island"in the tectonically active zone and strong earthquake zone since the Yanshanian,where strong tec-tonic stress produced"peak forest"(hoodoos )and the"peak forest"has also been well preserved.Under the strong Yanshanian principal compressional stress,two sets of vertical gigantic NNE and NNW conju-gate shear joins were produced in the subhorizontal dolomitic marble,forming an"X-shaped structure".Since the Cenozoic this mountain has risen and owing to structural jointing,combined with mechanical weathering and surface water erosion,it has gradually become a dolomitic marble"peak forest".This is a new type of landscape in China.