Huangshan (Yellow Mountain) is located in south part of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, 30°31′N and 118°11′E. It is composed of the Huangshan granite and its highest Lotus Flower Peak is 1864 m above sea level. It is one of the World Natural and Cultural Heritage List by UNESCO in 1990. Intrusive age of the Huangshan granite was dated 120-125 Ma, in Cretaceous. The granitic pluton uplifted and formed granitic mountains in the first episode of Himalayan movement, about 50 Ma. The mountains were eroded a denudation surface with low hills and shallow valley of late mature stage, this erosive stage is called Bright Summit Stage, about 30 Ma, the first dedudation surface at the mountain top is 1600-1800 m above sea level now. The second denudation surface was a lower mountain and wide valleys of mature stage after the second episode of Himalayan movement (about 20 Ma). The formation stage of the second denudation surface is called Old Man Peak Stage, about 5 Ma. Its height is 1100-1500 m above sea level now. The Huangshan granitic pluton with its first and second paleo denudation surfaces was uplifted by the Late Himalayan Movement along the mountain front fault zones in the Quaternary. It was eroded by streams to form deep canyons and middle mountains at present. The piedmont belt of Huangshan was a humid forest environment of subtropics in the Middle Pleistocene. At valley mouth of the southeastern piedmont belt distribute some pluvial fans which consist of red boulder clay in the Middle Pleistocene. The top of Huangshan was a cold frozen active environment in the last cold stage of the Late Pleistocene, the stage corresponded to the last Dali glaciation in western China, about 20 ka. The granitic mass of the mountain top part was degradeted and dilapidated along joints and crevices due to frost work, not glaciation, and formed beautiful peaks and fascinating rocks. Porf. Lee has proposed that the “confirmatory evidence of Pleistocene glaciation from Huangshan” is questionable and the “glacial evidence” is also discussed in this paper.
