Mount Tai - Wikipedia

Mount Tai is located in western Shandong, just north of the city of Tai'an and to the south of the provincial capital Jinan. It extends from 150–1,545 meters (492–5,069 ft) above sea level and covers an area of 426 km2 (164 sq mi) at its base. The Jade Emperor Peak, which rises 1,532.7 meters (5,029 ft) above sea level, is located at 36° 16′N and 117° 6′E.

Geological origin speculation

Mount Tai was formed in the middle of the Cenozoic about 30 million years ago. The stratum of Mount Tai is ancient, mainly composed of several ancient rocks such as mixed rock, mixed granite and various gneiss. The government prevents exploration of the caves, for they are unassessed and potentially dangerous. The Luxi region (including Mount Tai) used to be a huge subsiding belt or sea canal. The orogeny made the rock layers on the subsidence zone folded and uplifted into ancient land, forming a huge mountain system, which has experienced 2 billion years of weathering and denudation, and the terrain has gradually become flat. About 600 million years ago, Mount Tai sank into the sea again. After more than 100 million years, the entire area rose to land again, and the ancient Mount Tai uplifted into a relatively low barren hill. In the late Mesozoic period about 100 million years ago, due to the extrusion and subduction of the Pacific plate to the Eurasian Plate,[9] the Taishan stratum experienced extensive folds and fractures under the influence of the Yanshanian. During the crustal movement above, Mount Tai was rapidly uplifted. In the mid-Cenozoic period about 30 million years ago, the outline of Mount Tai as it is known today was formed.[10]

Climatic vegetation

Due to its height, Mount Tai has a vertical climate gradient. The lower part of the mountain is a warm temperate zone and the top of the mountain is a medium temperate zone. The mountain is cloudy and foggy, with an average annual precipitation of 1132mm, while the surrounding area receives only 750mm. Taishan scattering coverage rate reaches 80%.[11] On the foothills, deciduous forests, broad-leaved coniferous mixed forests, Coniferous forest, alpine shrubs and grass can be seen in sequence. The vertical boundaries of the forest belts are distinct and the vegetation landscapes are different. There are 989 species of seed plants in 144 families, including 433 species of woody plants in 72 families, 556 species of herbaceous plants in 72 families, and 462 species of medicinal plants in 111 families.[11]