Famous Quaternary Volcanic Group in China - Datong Volcanic Group

Datong Volcanic Group consisting of more than 30 volcanoes, including Jinshan Mountain, Heishan Mountain, Langwo Mountain, Tiger Mountain and Haotiansi Mountain, is the only volcanic group in the world that is developed on the Loess Plateau. The volcanic group is a huge community of extinct volcanoes, which belongs to the typical remains of crustal movement in the Quaternary Period (about 3 million years ago).

Datong Volcanic Group [Photo via the Publicity Department of the CPC Datong Municipal Committee]

Datong Volcanic Group is one of the six famous volcanic groups in China, and is reputed as "a rare natural heritage in the East Asian continent" and "a volcanic geological museum".

Datong Volcano Group can be divided into four areas, namely, East, West, South and North, according to the direction where they are located. Among them, volcanoes in west area are the most concentrated and spectacular, and the most famous volcanoes such as Jinshan Mountain, Langwo Mountain, Gelao Mountain, Mati Mountain and Haotian Mountain are all here. They rise from the flat and wide Sangan River valley, all between 1,100 and 1,400 meters above sea level, and each volcano is majestic, different in shapes and full of aura. Among them, Jinshan Mountain is the most featured one. Due to the magma outflow deposits during eruption, it looks glittering and glowing like diamonds or golds, earning itself the name of "Jinshan Mountain". It is surrounded by many small volcanoes, like children clinging to their mothers, forming a unique scene.

Datong Volcanic Group [Photo via the Publicity Department of the CPC Datong Municipal Committee]

The Datong Volcanic Group of National Geopark is located in Yunzhou District, Datong City and divided into Datong Volcanic Group Scenic Area, Sangan River Scenic Area and Qiulinyu Scenic Area. Boasting both geological relics and humanistic monuments, it is a large comprehensive geological park integrating many functions such as sightseeing, leisure and vacation, science popularization and scientific research.