Lithostratigraphy

    There are exposed sedimentary rocks, magmatic rocks and metamorphic rocks in the Geopark, among which, metamorphic rocks are the most typical one. Metamorphic rocks in the Geopark are mainly distributed on the Cangshan Mountain. These rocks were formed in Proterozoicof more than 2 billion years ago. They reflect different types of metamorphic environment and metamorphism. Some of them belong to regional metamorphism that occurred due to deep buried earth's crust under high temperature and high pressure. Some belong to dynamometamorphism caused by the strong extrusion during orogenic movement. Some belong to thermodynamic contact metamorphism formed at the time of magmatic intrusion. The complex geological reconstruction contributes to the forming of a variety of metamorphic rocks on the Cangshan Mountain. With more than ten types such as slate, schist, gneiss, leptynite, phyllite, marble, amphibolite, migmatite, cataclasite and mylonite, the Geopark can be called the museum of metamorphic rocks.

(I) Metamorphic Rock

Schist with an obvious schistose structure

Greenschist mixed with quartz veins

Biotite plagioclase gneiss Amphibolite plagioclase gneiss

Leptynitewith fold deformation

Leptynite

Cloud grey marble containing rheological fold

Marble with colorful patterns

Marbleized limestone mixed with greenschist

A set of migmatite and migmatitic granite exposed in the zone of the east slope of Cangshan Mountain at the altitude of 3200m to 3700m.

Migmatitic granite

Banding migmatite

Mylonite containing porphyroclast

Mylonitecontaining rotational porphyroclast

(II) Sedimentary Rock

There are signs indicating surfaces of carbonate rocks are baked by basalts.Carbonate rocks exposed in the northeast of Huadianba basin.

    Sedimentary rocks in the Geopark have a small distribution area mainly including the west slope and north of Cangshan Mountain as well as the east shore of Erhai Lake, with formations during Devonian, Carboniferous, Permian, Triassic, Jurassic, Cretaceous and Quaternary Periods exposed. There are conglomerate, sandstone, siltstone, argillaceous shale, carbonate rocks, siliceous rocks and so on.

(III) Magmatic Rock

    Activities of intrusive rocks in the Geopark are relatively intense. From the Mesoproterozoic, the Paleozoic to Mesozoic and Cenozoic, there are always magmatic movements. The rock type covers ultrabasic, basic, neutral and acidic rocks. Rock masses are extensively distributed in the whole region. Among them, metamorphic peridotite belonging to ultrabasic rocks in the ophiolitic melange belt of Jinsha River are of great geological significance.

GraniteGranitecontains potash feldspar phenocryst

(IV) Contact Section

The contact section of the marble, granite and leptynite

The contact section of the migmatitic granite and gneiss

Basalt intrudes into granite