Abstract:

Guangdong Province has a total of 67 places of Danxia landform, which are located in 22 faulted basins and mainly controlled by five north-east deep fractures and one east-west deep fracture in the Paleogene - Neogene uplift area. The strata are mainly Danxia Formation and Nanxiong Group and the lithologies are mainly conglomerate, gravel, and sandstone. The overall distribution of Danxia landform in the region is controlled by the Paleogene–Neogene crustal up-and-down movement, which is bounded by the line of 22.5°N. The area to the north of the line is uplift zone with great development of Danxia landform while that to the south of the line is settlement area without Danxia landform. The crustal up-and-down movement since late Pleistocene has led to the difference in number and size of different regions of Danxia landform: The northern and northeastern Guangdong are uplift areas where Danxia landform is more in number and larger in size, while the central Guangdong is settlement area where Danxia is less in number and smaller in size. Deep fractures control the distribution of faulted basins, which then control the development position of Danxia landform. According to the geological tectonic setting and the development characteristics of Danxia landform, Guangdong Province can be divided into four Danxia landform development areas: northern district, central district, northeast district and western district of Guangdong.

Key words: Danxia landform, crustal up-and-down movement, deep fracture, faulted basin, tectonic setting, zoning