Yuntaishan Global Geopark

Yuntaishan, or the Yuntai Mountain, is located in Jiaozuo, Henan Province. The geopark is distinguished by its majestic mountain view and captivating waterscape. It presents awe-inspiring canyon geology and landform and embodies a rich historical and cultural heritage, integrating great scientific and aesthetic value.

The mountain got its name "Yuntai" (literally meaning "cloud platform") from the perennial clouds lingering among its steep peaks and valleys. The Yuntai Mountain Scenic Area boasts appealing views of valleys, lakes, peaks, caves, and temples. The summit of Zhuyu Peak erects 1,300 meters above the sea level. The Yuntai Sky Waterfall, the landmark waterfall with a single drop of 314 meters, is the highest of its kind in Asia.

The Yuntai Mountain is home to rich geological relics, including rock strata dating back 3.4 billion years as well as the Archean, Proterozoic, Paleozoic and Cenozoic strata. In particular, the neotectonics and water erosion over the last 23 million years have created the fabulous clusters of valleys sandwiched between steep cliffs and a variety of cascades, springs, streams, and ponds. All these constitute the unique Yuntai landform.

While being favored by the emperors, high-rank officials, and the literati in history, the Yuntai Mountain also has a profound religious legacy left through the mutual influence between Buddhism and Daoism. In February 2004, it was designated by the UNESCO as one of the first global geoparks.

云臺(tái)山世界地質(zhì)公園

云臺(tái)山位于河南省焦作市，總面積280平方千米，是一處以太行山岳水景為特色，以峽谷類地質(zhì)地貌景觀和歷史文化為內(nèi)涵，集科學(xué)價(jià)值和美學(xué)價(jià)值于一身的自然景觀與地質(zhì)公園。

云臺(tái)山因山勢(shì)險(xiǎn)峻，峰壑之間常年云鎖霧繞而得名。云臺(tái)山風(fēng)景區(qū)含紅石峽、潭瀑峽、泉瀑峽、子房湖、茱萸峰、疊彩洞、獼猴谷、百家?guī)r、萬善寺等主要景點(diǎn)。主峰茱萸峰海拔約1300米；坐落在泉瀑峽內(nèi)的云臺(tái)天瀑單級(jí)落差314米，是亞洲單級(jí)落差最大的瀑布，被譽(yù)為“華夏第一高瀑”，是云臺(tái)山標(biāo)志性景觀之一。

云臺(tái)山地質(zhì)遺跡豐富，現(xiàn)已發(fā)現(xiàn)34億年前的巖層。30多億年來，形成了太古宇、元古宇、古生界和新生界地層，尤其是2300萬年以來，新構(gòu)造運(yùn)動(dòng)的強(qiáng)烈抬升和水蝕作用的深度下切，造就了云臺(tái)山雙崖對(duì)峙的峽谷群和各種動(dòng)態(tài)的瀑、泉、溪、潭，共同構(gòu)成了“云臺(tái)地貌”景觀。

在中國歷史上，云臺(tái)山不僅受到了諸多帝王將相、文人雅士的青睞，而且佛教和道教也在此相互影響，使之成為一座底蘊(yùn)厚重的宗教名山。2004年2月，云臺(tái)山被聯(lián)合國教科文組織評(píng)選為全球首批世界地質(zhì)公園。