Fossils suggest that today's Loess Plateau used to be a great
lake 60 million years ago, and the mountains on the plateau were
islands.
The Loess Plateau is one of the four major plateaus in China,
covering an area of 580 thousand sq km, in six provinces and
autonomous regions. It is the largest loess area in the world, and
the most typical one as well.
However, fish fossils found in Ningxia revealed its past as a
lake. These fossils were found in the shale in Jingyuan County,
Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. They are so well preserved that it
is very easy to see their scales, fins and even the tiny structures
of their skulls. Fossils of some leaves were found together with
the fish, which clearly reflect that the plateau used to be a
lake.
Geologists explain that the Loess Plateau was part of the
ancient ocean, and the orogenic movement started 460 million years
ago finally out an end to its history as an ocean. Though in the
Carboniferous Period, it was still under water, The Himalayan
orogenic movement 240 thousand years ago finally drained off the
waters and brought a plateau out. Long-time weathering since then
at last created the Loess Plateau we see today.
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(Chinanews.cn August 23, 2006)
