earthstory reblogged
Path to enlightenment.
Temple on a peak of Avatar Mountains, covered in mist. In fact, iconic Avatar mountains were inspired by Zhangjiajie mountains in Hunan Province
Source: instagram.com
Tianzi Mountain
Not far from Suoxi Valley in the city of Zhangjiajie, , Hunan Province of China, is the Tianzi Mountain.
The mountain was formed about 318 million years ago by sedimentary rock. The natural elements eroded this rock which, over time, converted them into quartz stones. Some scientists say that there used to be an ocean that lay on top of the sedimentary rock.
“Tianzi” means son of heaven. The name of the mountain comes from a farmer, Xiang Dakun, who called himself Tianzi after leading a rebellion of farmers. This occurred in the final years of the Southern Song Dynasty.
The mountain range covers 67 square kilometres with the highest peak being about 1 262m tall.
Several sources say that fictional land of Pandora, from the James Cameron movie, was inspired by Tianzi Mountain.
-♞Ren T
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Source: facebook.com
timothysykes
My #drone video of #zhangjiajie should help you understand why this place is the setting for the movie #avatar as it looks like no other place on Earth as photos don’t do it justice!
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- airvuz Hi AirVuz Fam, @sjoerdbrackehere for today’s takeover! I’m 24 years old, try to travel the world as much as possible and always bring my camera and @djiglobalMavic Pro to capture moments I want to remember forever! Here’s a video of the most insane place I’ve ever flown my drone! Enjoy!
ccharlesis It's a wrap!!! Travel documentary of my trip to Zhangjiajie(Yangshuo coming up soon) Hope you like it ☺️
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frenkyt World's longest glass bridge at Zhangjiajie
Source: instagram.com
· alex_broadstock Seeing these mountains in person was extraordinary, but being able to experience these mountains from a birds perspective using a drone was absolutely insane. As I flew the drone lower into the valley, the true scale of the pillars became apparent. The peaks stretched endlessly and it really looked like we were floating through Avatar’s Pandora. As kids, we always debated with friends on what superpowers we would want to have. I always said I wanted to be able to fly, and that clearly hasn’t changed. 💿: @sanholobeats
Zhangjiajie national forest park
Zhangjiajie Pillars
These epic columns of sandstone in Zhangjiajie forest park in China were the inspiration for the floating mountains in the movie “Avatar”.
The rocks started their life in the Devonian, time of the evolution of the first land plants, as part of blocks of crust on the edge of Gondwanaland. Tens of meters of cross-bedded sandstones were deposited and buried by later marine limestones, forming the stratigraphy of the park. Despite China being formed by several collisions between these blocks of continental crust, these rocks remained mostly flat lying. A few vertical fractures called joints formed after the sediments were lithified into sandstone and brought to the surface. Those fractures allowed water to flow in and erode downwards along the edge of the cracks, leaving only the thin pillars up to 50 meters high remaining.
Based on the current erosion rates in the area, forming columns of sandstone tens of meters high would have required erosion to start all the way back around the start of the Pleistocene, about 2 million years ago.
-JBB
Image credit: David Berger http://bit.ly/2tL2rii References: http://bit.ly/2GmPSwe http://bit.ly/2FybSXC https://www.atlasobscura.com/pla…/avatar-hallelujah-mountain http://www.globalgeopark.org/aboutGGN/list/China/6421.htm
Source: facebook.com
Fly through the Zhangjiajie National Forest Park
Cable car ride through the columns at Zhangjiajie Forest Park, China
evosia Low clouds rolling through Zhangjiajie National Park, China
mustdotravels Exploring Zhangjiajie National Forest Park through Bailong Elevator.
Video exploration of ZhangjiaJie National Park, China, and its eroding sandstone columns.
Between heaven and earth exists all living things. Natural forces like light, wind, heat, cold, and water shape our existence just as they have the breathtaking landscapes in China's Zhangjiajie National Forest.
During rainy season, the moisture turns into fog which flows among the rock formations as if islands of rock and trees were floating in a sea of clouds. And light rain won't do it. You need a downpour. Then, you need to be fast, as the fog doesn't stay around for very long. The right conditions don't happen often but when it does, it is an amazing sight to behold.
I was lucky to have been able to shoot these conditions for a week. However, the adventure starts before hand. Getting here isn't easy, which is why I didn't see many westerners. It takes an overnight train to get to the closest city, then another 2-3hr drive to the entrance of the park. From there it is an hour or more to get close to the locations. A lot of preparation, luck and patience!