A spectacular old forest has been found 630 feet below the surface of a sinkhole in China’s Leye-Fengshan World Geopark. This geopark is located in Guangxi, China.
UNESCO has awarded the Zhuang Autonomous Area recognition for its distinctive geological features.
The geopark contains a variety of karst formations, including caves, natural bridges, and vast cave systems. It is primarily sedimentary and made up of Devonian to Permian carbonate rocks. Intriguing geological characteristics found there include poljes, karst springs, karst windows (tiankengs), natural bridges, enormous cave chambers, and speleothems. It also has high karst peak clusters (fengcong).
In the geopark, a new sinkhole that is almost 1,000 feet long, 490 feet wide, and nearly 630 feet deep was discovered by scientists in May 2022. Several old trees and plants were found inside this enormous sinkhole, some of which may have been previously unidentified species.