Comparison with other Danxia-type sites in the world
(not on the World Heritage List)
The following table lists other red bed sites that are located throughout the world. This list is the product of a literature search, and because of limited available detailed scientific information on the geology and geomorphology of individual sites, it does not claim to be definitive.
The research was helped particularly by publications by Wray, 1997, and the Proceedings of two conferences on Sandstone Landscapes in Europe (Koprivova, 2002 and Christian & Krippel, 2005). In all, the world-wide search revealed a total of 49 red bed sites. The table shows that while red beds are well-represented throughout the world, their rocks date from widely different periods. Also noteable is that, while many of the red bed landscapes listed in the table are located in arid, or semi-arid, morphoclimatic zones, this, contrasts with the sites forming this nomination which are all located in a warm, semi-monsoonal climate. It is unfortunate that because of the dearth of scientific information, the extent and integrity of the geomorphological system of the principal sites in the table cannot be ascertained. Nevertheless, the most important conclusion to be gained from reviewing this table is that no-where in the world is Danxia as well represented as in the sites forming the subject of this nomination in SE China.
The table does include some iconic red bed landscapes, particularly in the USA and Australia. Some of these sites bear some visual resemblence to the Danxia of SE China, but frequently the scale is much smaller and karstic processes (e.g., quartzite dissolution) may be more dominant than in the Chinese sites.
