Stone pillar rockfall in Danxia landform area, Mt. Langshan, Hunan Province, China

A significant rockfall event at the UNESCO World Heritage site of China Danxia, specifically at Mt. Langshan, was triggered by the rapid weathering and retreat of soft, intercalated rock layers within the Lanlong Formation. This process altered the stress state within the rock body, leading to compressive or tensile stresses exceeding the rock's strength limits, resulting in partial or complete collapse. The study analyzed 44 sandstone and conglomerate cores from the formation, assessing their mechanical properties, resistance to sulfuric acid, and freezing-thawing effects, while also examining rock slices under a polarizing microscope. A 3D finite-element model was used to reconstruct the pre-collapse geometry and restraint conditions of the stone pillar, providing insights into the stress dynamics that led to its failure.

Yan, L., Peng, H., Hu, Z., Kašanin-Grubin, M., Greif, V., Chen, Z., & Simonson, S. (2016). Stone pillar rockfall in Danxia landform area, Mt. Langshan, Hunan Province, China. Physical Geography, 37(5), 327–343. https://doi.org/10.1080/02723646.2016.1218244