Jiuzhaigou
is a Nature Reserve and National Park located in the north
of Sichuan Province in the southwestern region of China. A long
valley running north to south, Jiuzhaigou
was inscribed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 1992
and a World Biosphere Reserve in 1997. It belongs to the
category V (Protected Landscape) in the IUCN system of protected area
categorization.
The
Jiuzhaigou valley is part of the Min Mountains on
the edge of the Tibetan Plateau and stretches over 72,000 hectares
(180,000 acres). It is known for its many multi level waterfalls, colorful
lakes, and snow-capped peaks. Its elevation ranges from 2,000 to 4,500 metres
(6,600 to 14,800 ft).
Jiuzhaigou
lies at the southern end of the Minshan mountain range, 330 km
(205 mi) north of the provincial capital of Chengdu. It is part of
the Jiuzhaigou County in
the ABA Tibetan Qiang Autonomous Prefecture of northwestern Sichuan province,
near the Gansu border.
Jiuzhaigou's
landscape is made up of high altitude karsts shaped by glacial, hydrological and tectonic activity.
It lies on major faults on the diverging belt between the
Qinghai-Tibet Plate and the Yangtze Plate, and earthquakes have also
shaped the landscape. The rock strata are mostly made up of carbonate rocks
such dolomite and tufa, as well as some sandstone and shales.
