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Upper Cretaceous alluvial fan deposits in the Jianglangshan Geopark of Southeast China: implications for bedrock control on Danxia landform evolution

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Abstract

The Jianglangshan Geopark in the western Zhejiang Province of Southeast China is well-known for its spectacular red-colored sandstone landforms. Little is known about the depositional processes of the conglomerate-dominated Fangyan Formation, the lithologic base of the Danxia landforms in this geopark. Based on detailed field investigation of lithology, sedimentary structures, bed thickness and geometry, five facies are recognized: facies A (matrix-supported cobble conglomerate), facies B (pebble conglomerate), facies C (pebbly sandstone), facies D (fine-grained sandstone) and facies E (mudstone). The results show that streamflow-dominated fans were the main depositional processes responsible for the accumulation of the Fangyan Formation along the mountain fronts. These fan conglomerates form the base for the evolution of the Danxia landscapes owing to the uplift and erosion of the study area. In contrast, the fine-grained sedimentary successions produced by fluvial floodplains in the distal part of the fans were thinner and more easily weathered. Such sedimentary facies distribution patterns were thought to be similar during Late Cretaceous across Southeast China. The Danxia landforms are largely the geographical expressions of the conglomerate-dominated redbeds in the proximal-middle fans.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 41602113), the Open Research Fund from the State Key Laboratory Breeding Base of Nuclear Resources and Environment (East China University of Technology) (Grant No. NRE1605). Dr. YANG Qing-kun and graduate students ZHANG Jie-wei and XUAN Pu-yan helped measure the outcrop section in the field investigation. We are also grateful to the reviewers whose critical and helpful comments greatly improved the early version of the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory Breeding Base of Nuclear Resources and Environment, East China University of Technology, Nanchang, 330013, China

    Liu-qin Chen

  2. School of Earth Sciences, East China University of Technology, Nanchang, 330013, China

    Liu-qin Chen & Fu-sheng Guo

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  1. Liu-qin Chen
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  2. Fu-sheng Guo
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Correspondence to Liu-qin Chen.

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Chen, Lq., Guo, Fs. Upper Cretaceous alluvial fan deposits in the Jianglangshan Geopark of Southeast China: implications for bedrock control on Danxia landform evolution. J. Mt. Sci. 14, 926–935 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11629-016-4024-1

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