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With an area of 450 sq kilometers (about 173.75 sq miles), Mount Yandang is composed of eight scenic areas, most famous of which are the Three Best Wonders: the Spiritual Peaks, the Big Dragon Waterfall and the Spiritual Rocks. The main peak of North Yandangshan, Baigangjian, rises 1,150 m (3,770 ft) above sea level (other sources give altitude of 1056 m or 1108 m). Among the Three Best Wonders of Yandang Mountain, the Spiritual Rocks is the most magnificent and forbidding. Like a three-storey building, the Spiritual Rocks Area can be divided into three 'floors'. There is a radar station on the peak, which is closed to the public.
Famous as "wonderful scenery in China" for a long history, Yandang Mt. is among the first state-level scenic spots. With a core area of 186 km', the mountain is based on the natural landscapes with high aesthetic and scientific value and has become a spatial complexity that can greatly satiate travelers' eagerness of beauty as the integration of natural and historical civilization. Peculiar and excellent natural landscape, universally significant and prominent scientific value as well as profound national mountains-and-waters culture are 'in perfect harmony in Yandang Mt. Yandang Mt.'s altitude is 1056 meter.
The peculiar natural landscape itself of Yandang Mt. is a Cretaceous revived caldera whose age is 120-100 million years and is earlier than those Cenozoic ones of the world. The caldera exposed its inner geology and rocks after having been dissected and lifted, recorded distinctively the forming and evolving history and revealed the evolving model of the Mesozoic caldera. Yandang Mt. is the product of crust-mantle interaction during the dynamic process of the subduction of ancient Pacific Izanagi plate to Asian Continent. A famous poet in Qing Dynasty by Jiang Shi, exclaimed that 'the beauty of the Big Dragon Waterfall cannot be expressed in words.' Jumping down from Lianyun Peak (about 623 feet high), the Big Dragon Waterfall runs into the Qingjiang River and finally into the sea.
Thanks to multi eruptions, falls, revivals and rises, and the erosion by water for millions of years, the present landforms were formed. When there are heavy rains, The Big Dragon Waterfall conjures an image of a dragon flying swiftly upward and another one seething in the pond waters below. Thus, the name 'dragon' has been given to it. In fall and winter, the water flows down quietly and calmly. With the misty haze surrounding the falls, one can feel as if they are enjoying the marvels of heaven.
Known for its unique character, Mount Yandang has been praised as 'a famous mountain in the sea', 'an unsurpassed wonder in the world'. Peaks and water, caves and volcano, nature is such a genius to create this wonderful scenery.