Lies in Nanping
County, Sichuan Province in the southern part of the Min Shan
Range, approximately 330km from Chengdu.
Includes the catchment areas of the Shizheng, Rize and Zechawa gullies
which join Jiuzhaigou Valley. 32°54'-33°19'N, 103°46'-104°4'E. About
72,000ha, with a buffer zone of an additional 60,000ha.
Jiuzhaigou has remained undisturbed, largely due to its
inaccessibility. Some protection was provided when at least part of the
area was protected as a nature reserve in 1978. Extensive logging took
place between 1972 and 1979
and concern about this prompted the proposal of the area as an area of
scenic beauty and historic interest by the State Council of the People's
Republic of China in 1982. An Administration Bureau for the site was
established in 1984 and an overall plan for the site, with regulations,
was drafted and approved in 1987. The site was inscribed on the World
Heritage List in 1992.
PHYSICAL FEATURES
Lying on the edge of the diverging belt between the Qinghai-Tibet Plate
and the Yangtze Plate, there are major faultlines running through the
site: earthquakes are not uncommon and have been a major influence on the
geological landscape. The rock strata are dominated by carbonate rocks,
notably dolomite and tufa. Some sandstone and shales are also exposed. Of
greater interest, geologically, are the high altitude karst land forms
which have been strongly influenced by glacial, hydrological and tectonic
activity.
The best known
features are the large number of lakes in the area: many are classic
ribbon lakes, at the base of glacially formed valleys, which have been
dammed naturally, for example behind rockfalls from avalanches. Processes
of carbonate deposition are responsiblefor the cementation and
stabilisation of these dams. A number of the lakes are bounded on the
upstream and downstream sides by calcareous tufa dykes and shoals. In two
places, there are a stepped series of lakes, like terraces separated by
these tufa dykes. These sites, Shuzheng Lakes and Nuorilang Lakes, with 19
and 18 lakes, respectively, can be compared to the travertine pools of
Huanglong Scenic Area to the south. They are less well-developed,
geologically, but are much larger in size.
Also of note are a
number of large and spectacular waterfalls, including Xionguashai (Panda
Lake) Fall which drops 78m in three steps, and the Zhengzhutan (Pearl
Shoal) Fall, which drops 28m in a broad curtain of water, 310m wide. This
latter fall lies at the downstream end of the Zhengshutan (Pearl Shoal)
which is the larger of two calcareous tufa shoals in the site. These
shoals are wide gently sloping areas of active calcareous deposition which
are covered in a thin sheet of flowing water. Although spectacular, these
shoals are not as extensive as those in Huanglonggou, in Huanglong Scenic
Area.
The hydrology of the
site is dominated by three valleys, Rize and Zechawa gullies flowing from
the south and meeting at the centre of the site where they form the
Shuzheng Gully. This latter is then met by the Zaru Gully flowing
north-westwards from the eastern boundary of the site, where they meet
they form the Jiuzhaigou Valley, which itself is one of the sources of the
Jialing River, part of the Yangtze River system. The great majority of the
park perimeter follows the mountainous watersheds of these rivers.
Over most of the
site the soils express their limestone parent rock, to a greater or lesser
degree, while there is some variance in colour and texture. They are all
neutral to slightly alkali. On the higher mountain slopes, the soils are
poorly developed.
It is reported that
in 1996 the panda population was estimated at 17 individuals. MoF/WWF (1989) describes the population as
being small and totally isolated. This population was formerly more
extensive and linked to other populations to the north-east of the
reserve. The proximity of the site to other large panda populations,
notably in Baihe and Wanglang reserves and the proposed Wujiao Reserve,
gives potential for maintaining or restoring the links between these
populations and maintaining gene flow. This large interconnected series of
reserves would also be of great value to the continued survival of golden
snub-nosed monkey, which also requires extensive areas of undisturbed
habitat.
|