Granite Landform Diversity and Dynamics Underpin Geoheritage Values of Seoraksan Mountains, Republic of Korea

Abstract

Seoraksan Mountains in the Republic of Korea are presented as an area of outstanding geodiversity combining rock-controlled granite landforms, inherited cold-climate landforms and highly active contemporary geomorphological processes. Three generations of granites, ranging in age from Proterozoic to Cretaceous, are present and each of these supports distinctive morphology. Cretaceous granites are associated with most spectacular features such as domes and towers, fins, long rock slopes, and fluvial gorges. The latter host abundant waterfalls of different types, potholes, and bedrock channels. While no clear glacial landforms exist in Seoraksan, widespread blockfields, blockslopes, and blockstreams constitute the cold-climate legacy of potentially important palaeoclimatic significance. Slope steepness and extreme rainfall events are the decisive factors to explain frequent mass movements which leave visible erosional and depositional evidence on slopes and in valley floors. The geodiversity of Seoraksan makes the area highly suitable for outdoor geo-education and it is also argued that the area represents a highly diverse, non-glaciated mountainous geomorphological system that integrates source and sink areas and is of exceptional value and extraordinary scenic beauty.

Quantitative Assessment of Spatial Pattern of Geodiversity in the Tibetan Plateau

“…[15][16][17][18][19][20][21]. These ideas are partly supported by Migon et al [22] and Ansori et al [23], in their studies about UNESCO Global Geoparks, where geodiversity can provide multifarious geoeducational values and landscape features to visitors. By determining the quantity of abiotic elements, geodiversity often reveals the abundance of natural resources.…”

Conservation of World Heritage glacial landscapes in a changing climate: The Swiss Alps Jungfrau-Aletsch case

“…Taken together, the different elements of the past, present and future are of additional interest as they allow to understand and illustrate the combination of landforms and processes in their spatial and temporal dimensions. In this respect, evolving geomorphosites are of particular interest, although to our knowledge, issues of combining temporal scales in geomorphological landscapes have been little described so far, apart from the influence of past and present surface processes on geodiversity (Gordon, 2018;Thomas, 2012) and the consideration of these dynamic processes as part of the geoheritage values in mountain environments (Migoń, Kasprzak, & Woo, 2019).…”

Granite Landscapes, Geodiversity and Geoheritage—Global Context

“…However, steep rock slopes may evolve without the contribution from glacial processes, in response to deep joint-guided fluvial incision of an otherwise massive and mechanically strong granite. A good example is provided by Seoraksan mountain range in Korea, where relative relief is in the order of 1000 m and nearly vertical rock slopes extend for 200-400 m (Figure 3b) [64]. A peculiar variant of all-slopes topography is represented by Sanqingshan mountain group in te eastern part of China, sculpted into an array of towers and pinnacles separated by steep ravines, which however lack streams and seem to be primarily deepened by weathering and mass movements (Figure 3c).…”

“…Periglacial landforms common in mid-latitude granite terrains, largely inherited from the Pleistocene, and high-latitude areas, still evolving, include block fields and block streams composed of angular rock fragments, mid-slope bedrock cliffs, solifluction sheets and lobes [25,72]. Among them, block fields are widespread and may include features suggestive of downslope creep in the presence of ground ice [64], acquiring therefore a special significance for reconstructing palaeoenvironments.…”

“…Iconic vistas such as Spitzkoppe in Namibia or Torres del Paine in Chile (Figures 1 and 3a) are also worth exploring for their possible outstanding universal value. Striking examples of granite mountainous sceneries exist in the Korean Peninsula, recently explored in terms of their geodiversity and geoheritage value, possibly of global significance [64,107]. Another promising avenue of inquiry might be focused on very large granite domes in near-equatorial cratonic areas, such as Nigeria [33,36] and North-East Brazil [70,108].…”