Stone Forest facts for kids
The Stone Forest (also called Shilin) is an incredible area filled with tall limestone columns. It is located in Yunnan Province, China. Two special parts of this site, the Naigu Stone Forest and Suogeyi Village, are recognized as UNESCO World Heritage Sites. They are part of a larger area called the South China Karst. The Stone Forest is also a top-rated tourist spot in China, given the highest rating of AAAAA.
How the Stone Forest Formed
Ancient Seas and Rock Layers
The amazing stone columns you see today began to form about 270 million years ago. Back then, this area was covered by a shallow sea. Over millions of years, layers of rock, mostly limestone with some sandstone, were laid down horizontally at the bottom of this sea.
Uplift and Erosion by Nature
Later, powerful forces from inside the Earth pushed these flat rock layers upwards, lifting them out of the sea and into the air. Once exposed, the limestone rocks started to wear away. Wind and water slowly but surely carved and shaped the rocks. This process, called erosion, created the spectacular stone pillars we see today. There is a very similar "forest" of rocks in Madagascar, known as the Tsingy.
