九寨沟(Jiuzhaigou-Valley)

JiuzhaigouValley——AworldoffairytaleGeographyandclimateJiuzhaigouNationalPark(ValleyofNineVillages)isanaturereserveinthenorthofSichuan,aprovinceinsouthwesternChina.Itisknownforitsmanymulti-levelwaterfallsandcolorfullakes,andwasdeclaredaUNESCOWorldHeritageSitein1992.ItbelongstothecategoryV(ProtectedLandscape)intheIUCNsystemofprotectedareacategorization.NotablefeaturesJiuzhaigouiscomposedofthreevalleysarrangedinaYshape.TheRizeandZechawavalleysflowfromthesouthandmeetatthecentreofthesitewheretheyformtheShuzhengvalley,flowingnorthtothemouthofthevalley.RizeValley(日则沟)The18kmlongRizeValley(日则沟)isthesouth-westernbranchofJiuzhaigou.Itcontainsthelargestvarietyofsitesandistypicallyvisitedfirst.Goingdownhillfromitshighestpoint,onepassesthefollowingsites:ThePrimevalForest(原始森林)SwanLake(天鹅海)GrassLake(草海)ArrowBambooLake(箭竹海)PandaLake(熊猫海)FiveFlowerLake(五花海)PearlShoal(珍珠滩)MirrorLake(镜海)ThePrimevalForestItisapreservedancientwoodland.SwanLake(天鹅海)Itisa2250mlong,125mwidepicturesquelakenamedforitsvisitingswansandducksGrasslake(草海）ItisashallowlakecoveredinintricatevegetationpatternsArrowBambooLake(箭竹海)coveringanareaof170,000m²,isashallowlakewithadepthof6m.Itliesatanelevationof2,618m,andwasamainfeaturesiteforthe2002ChinesefilmHeroPandaLake(熊猫海)featurescuriouscolorpatternsofblueandgreen.Itemptiesintothemulti-stream,multi-levelPandaWaterfalls,dropping78min3steps.FiveFlowerLake(五花海)FiveFlowerLake(五花海,WǔhuāHǎi)isashallowmulti-coloredlakewhosebottomiscriss-crossedbyancientfallentreetrunks.PearlShoal(珍珠滩)Itisawide,gentlyslopingareaofactivecalcareoustufadepositioncoveredinathinsheetofflowingwater.ItemptiesintothefamousPearlWaterfalls,wheretheshoaldrops28mina310mwidebroadcurtainofwater.AsceneofthetelevisionadaptationofJourneytotheWestwasfilmedthere.MirrorLake(镜海)Itisanotherquietlakecastingbeautifulreflectionsofthesurroundingswhenthewateriscalm.ZechawaValle(则查洼沟)TheZechawaGully(则查洼沟)isthesouth-easternbranchofJiuzhaigou.ItisapproximatelythesamelengthasRizegully(18km)butclimbstoahigheraltitude(3150mattheLongLake).Goingdownhillfromitshighestpoint,itfeaturesthefollowingsites:LongLake(长海)Five-ColorPond(五彩池)TheSeasonalLakes(季节海)LongLake(长海)isthehighest,largestanddeepestlakeinJiuzhaigou,measuring7.5kminlengthandupto103mindepth.Itreportedlyhasnooutgoingwaterways,gettingitswaterfromsnowmeltandlosingitfromseepage.Localfolklorefeaturesamonsterinitsdepths.Five-ColorPond(五彩池)ItisoneofthesmallestbutmostspectacularbodiesofwaterinJiuzhaigoulakes.Despiteitsverymodestdimensionsanddepth,ithasarichlycoloredunderwaterlandscapewithsomeofthebrightestandclearestwatersinthearea.TheSeasonalLakes(季节海)Theyareaseriesof3lakes(Lower,MiddleandUpper)alongthemainroad,thatchangefromemptytofullduringeachyear.ShuzhengValley(树正沟)TheShuzhengValley(树正沟)isthenorthern(main)branchofJiuzhaigou.Itendsafter14.5kmattheY-shapedintersectionofthethreegullies.Goingdownhillfromtheintersectiontothemouthofthevalley,visitorsencounterthefollowing:NuorilangFalls(诺日朗瀑布)NuorilangLakes(诺日朗群海)SleepingDragonLake(卧龙海)ReedLake(芦苇海)NuorilangFalls(诺日朗瀑布)nearthejunctionofthevalleys,are20mhighand320mwide.TheyarereportedlythewidesthighlandwaterfallinChina,andoneofthesymbolsofJiuzhaigou.NuorilangLakes(诺日朗群海)NuorilangLakesaresteppedseriesofrespectively18and19ribbonlakesformedbythepassageofglaciers,thennaturallydammed.Someofthemhavetheirownfolkloricnames,suchastheRhinoceros,Unknown,andTigerlakes.SleepingDragonLake(卧龙海)Itisoneofthelowerlakesinthearea.Withadepthof20m,itisnotablefortheclearlyvisiblecalcareousdykerunningthroughit,whoseshapehasbeencomparedtoadragonlyingonthebottom.ReedLake(芦苇海)Itisa1375m-long,reed-coveredmarshwithaclearturquoisebrookzigzagingthroughit.Thecontrastisparticularlystrikingintheautumnwhenthereedsturnyellow.TheEndThanks