Basalt Columns

　　This landscape consists of a mafic volcanic rock formation formed after a volcanic eruption. The rock body is part of the Quaternary Chuandishan basalt. It is exposed at the surface, measuring 85 meters in length and 40 meters in width. The upper part of the formation, due to weathering, features hexagonal columns with diameters of 10–30 cm and lengths of 0.8–1.2 m, scattered across the formation and aligned along the slope of the hillside. The lower part consists of tightly interlocked hexagonal columns forming a solid mass. The formation clearly shows flow patterns directed toward the right side of the valley and exhibits a U-shaped downward structure. To the naked eye, the rock appears black, cryptocrystalline to subcryptocrystalline, and dense. Under the microscope, it displays holocrystalline or semi-glassy microgranular or spotted structures, with the spots mainly composed of augite, along with small amounts of olivine and plagioclase. The matrix is made up of an intergrowth of pyroxene and plagioclase in a micrographic texture. Due to the presence of iron in the rock, its specific gravity is relatively high, generally ranging between 2.9 and 3.2.

　　Since its discovery, the basalt landscape has attracted many domestic and international tourists as well as researchers for sightseeing and study.