!!!National Park Jiuzhaigou

by Stas Sedov and
Dmitry Moiseenko,
members of the [AirPano Team|Geography/About/Consortium/AirPano,_Team] that is a member of the [global-geography Consortium|Geography/About/Consortium]. \\

30 December 2014

with kind permission of [AirPano|http://www.AirPano.com]

There are a lot of magnificent historical and natural places in China.
AirPano team has already created several panoramas of this wonderful
country: The Great Wall of China, Yuanyang Rice Terraces, Thousand
Island Lake and others. We didn't pay attention to The National Park
Jiuzhaigou before, so this time we are going to correct this mistake.

[{Image src='01_Jiuzhaigou, China.jpg' caption='Jiuzhaigou, China' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='501'}]

Jiuzhaigou is translated as The Valley of Nine Villages. Seven of the
nearest villages are still inhabited by people. But we think that this
name is not suitable for such a natural monument, which inscribed by
UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 1992.

[{Image src='02_Jiuzhaigou, China.jpg' caption='Jiuzhaigou, China' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='462'}]

Jiuzhaigou is composed of three valleys arranged in Y-shape. The Rize
and Zechawa valleys flow from the south and meet at the centre of the
site where they form the Shuzheng valley, flowing north to the mouth of
the valley. Reserved landscapes of these valleys are created by
multi-level waterfalls and wonderful colorful lakes. They were
originated as a result of glacial activity: they were dammed by rock
falls and other natural phenomena, and then solidified by processes of
carbonate deposition. The water of several lakes is so clear that the
bottom is often visible even at high depths. And every lake is unique.

[{Image src='03_Jiuzhaigou, China.jpg' caption='Jiuzhaigou, China' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='605'}]

Picturesque Swan Lake is named for its feathered inhabitants. The
surface of Grass Lake is covered in intricate vegetation patterns. Panda
Lake features curious color patterns of blue and green... And these are
just some of the very interesting sights of The Rize Valley. There is
also Pearl Shoal which is a wide, gently sloping area of active
calcareous deposition covered in a thin sheet of flowing water. It
empties into the famous Pearl Waterfalls, where the shoal drops 28 m in
a 310 m wide broad curtain of water.

[{Image src='04_Jiuzhaigou, China.jpg' caption='Jiuzhaigou, China' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='632'}]

In The Zechawa Valley there is Long Lake which is the highest, largest
and deepest lake in Jiuzhaigou. It is measuring 7.5 km in length and up
to 103 m in depth. It reportedly has no outgoing waterways, getting its
water from snowmelt and losing it from seepage. Local folklore features
a monster in its depths. In that very valley there is also one of the
smallest water bodies of the national park — Five-Color Pond. This pond
is the most famous one: it has a richly colored underwater landscape
with some of the brightest and clearest waters in the area.

[{Image src='05_Jiuzhaigou, China.jpg' caption='Jiuzhaigou, China' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='522'}]

The Shuzheng Valley can be proud of the widest highland waterfall in
entire China. Nuorilang Falls are 20 m high and 320 m wide. Bearing the
same names, Nuorilang Lakes and Shuzheng Lakes are stepped series of
respectively 18 and 19 ribbon lakes formed by the passage of glaciers,
then naturally dammed. Another unusual lake of the valley is named after
Sleeping Dragon: it is notable for the clearly visible calcareous dyke
running through it, whose shape has been compared to a mythological
monster. Reed Lake is a complete opposite: actually it is a reed-covered
marsh with a clear turquoise brook zigzagging through it. The contrast
is particularly striking in the autumn when the reeds turn golden
yellow.

[{Image src='06_Jiuzhaigou, China.jpg' caption='Jiuzhaigou, China' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='570'}]

Nearly 300 km2 of the area are covered by virgin mixed forests. Those
forests take on attractive yellow, orange and red hues in the autumn,
making the landscapes of Jiuzhaigou truly colourful. These forests are
also home to many endemic plants and such endangered species as giant
panda and golden snub-nosed monkey.

We doubt that you will be able to see these representatives of local
fauna in our panoramas, but you can be sure that other beauties of The
National Park Jiuzhaigou are fully presented here.

\\ \\
[19 Panoramas of National Park Jiuzhaigou|Geography/Asia/China/Pictures/Panoramas_of_National_Park_Jiuzhaigou]










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