Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau | mountains, biodiversity, karst | Britannica (original) (raw)

Chinese (Pinyin):

Yunnan-Guizhou Gaoyuan or

(Wade-Giles romanization):

Yün-nan-Kuei-chou Kao-yüan

Also called:

Yungui Plateau

Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, highland region comprising the northern part of Yunnan province and the western part of Guizhou province, south-central China. Yunnan is more distinctly a plateau with areas of rolling uplands, precipitous folded and fault-block mountain ranges, and deep, river-cut gorges. About 6,000 feet (2,000 metres) in elevation, the Yunnan part has mountain peaks rising above 12,000 feet (3,700 metres) in the west. In the Guizhou part, with an average elevation of about 4,000 feet (1,200 metres), karst processes have created sinkholes, ravines, natural bridges, and underground streams in the limestone landscape. Much bare rock is exposed in steep slopes, and there are few large areas of level land. Within the plateau there are many small lake basins separated by mountains, and the edge of the plateau is highly dissected. Basins in the Kunming area (Yunnan) are the most developed farming regions on the plateau. The Stone Pinnacles of Lunan in Yunnan is a tourist attraction.