Zhijindong Cave
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15-2-1-Features of columns in Zhijindong Cave
Timer：2024-05-09
The abundant columns are main chemical sediments in Zhijindong Cave, usually developed together with stalagmites and densely distributed at the 3rd and 4th layers of caves of the first main cave (Cave entrance-Moon-Sun Pond-Wanshan Lake-Moon Palace-Shiwan Mountain). Most of them are beautiful and colorful in morphology and unique in style with common shape, shield shape, Chinese lute shape, round tower shape, palm shape, fusiform and nodular shape.
Main morphotypes and features of columns in Zhijindong Cave
| Morphotype | Main development features | Main development area | Typical geosites |
| 1. Common column | The shape is different in size, and most of them are thick at both ends and slim in the middle, with nodular bodies or palm slices in different sizes developed surrounding its surface, which makes its shape more vivid, real and gorgeous. | Widely distributed everywhere of the cave, large in quantity and common in sightseeing | |
| 2. Shield-shaped column | The symbiosis of shields, stalactites and stalagmites forms a special “shield-shaped” column, which is connected by shields at the top, stalactites in the middle and stalagmites at the bottom. | Dispersedly distributed in some places of the cave, small in quantity and less common in domestic caves. | |
| 3. Chinese lute-shaped column | The symbiosis of straight shields, stalactites and stalagmites forms a “Chinese lute-shaped” column, and this is an exception of shield-shaped columns. | There is only one developed in Pipa Palace, which is a treasure and monopoly sightseeing landscape of Zhijindong Cave. | Inverted Pipa (Chinese lute) |
| 4 Round-shaped column | Most are large or huge columns that look like high towers. They are large in scale, presenting a shape of “thickness at the lower part and slimness at the upper part”. The height is generally 12-17m, up to 40m in maximum; the diameter, smaller than the height by 2 to 5 times, is 2-6m generally, up to 11-16m in the maximum. | They are important sightseeing landscapes widely distributed in all places of the cave | Twin columns in temple |
| 5 Palmlike column | Palm slices of different sizes and scales develop surrounding the surface of stalagmite (length: 10-30cm; width: 10-30cm), and it presents an imbricate arrangement vertically with narrow clearances. The “thickness at the lower part and slimness at the upper part” makes it look like a palm tree in full blossom. | One-Line-Sky, Zhijin alsophila spinulosa | |
| 6 Fusiform column | Fusiform bodies on the surface are in different sizes and scales and connected end to end from top to bottom, with a length of 25 to 45cm. | Widely distributed everywhere of the cave, large in quantity and common in sightseeing | |
| 7 Nodular column | Nodular bodies in different sizes and scales are developed twistedly on the surface with a length of 5 to 15cm. | ||
