Abstract
The Longyou caverns in the Zhejiang province of China were hand dug more than two thousand years ago. Five of these caverns were drained in 1992 and are now a major tourist attraction. Brick red argillaceous siltstones locally mingled with greyish-white flecks are present in the geological sequence in which these caverns have been created. Stress cracks have developed in the roof, walls and pillars and the cavern faces are showing distinct signs of powdering. The paper discusses the nature of the rocks, highlighting the smectititic clay which causes disintegration in the argillaceous siltstones. In addition, in the greyish-white speckled material, dissolution of the calcareous cement results in unbound grains forming on the rock face. The rate of disintegration due to weathering is most pronounced near the openings of the caverns where the effects of the external atmosphere are most marked.
Résumé
Les grottes de Longyou dans la province de Zhejiang ont été creusées à la main, il y a plus de deux mille ans. Cinq de ces grottes furent assainies en 1992 et sont maintenant ouvertes au public. Ces grottes ont été creusées dans des siltites argileuses rouge brique localement associées à des argilites mouchetées gris clair. Des fissures se sont développées dans le toit, les murs et les piliers et des processus d’effritement affectent les parements de ces grottes. L’article détaille les types de roches, soulignant la présence de smectites à l’origine de l’altération des siltites argileuses. De plus, la dissolution de ciments calcaires dans les matériaux mouchetés gris clair rend ceux-ci sensibles à l’effritement. Le taux d’effritement est le plus important près des entrées des grottes où les effets de l’atmosphère extérieure sont les plus forts.
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Acknowledgements
We would like to thank Lu Ming and Guo Jian-jun (from Bureau of Culture and Travel in Longyou, Zhejiang province) for their help at the site of the Longyou grottoes. This study is supported by Chinese Natural Science Fund NO.40272112.
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Guo, Gm., Li, Lh., Yang, Zf. et al. Weathering mechanism of the Cretaceous argillaceous siltstone caverns, Longyou, China. Bull Eng Geol Environ 64, 397–407 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-005-0004-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-005-0004-3