The uplifting and denudation of main Huangshan Mountains, Anhui Province, China.

The Huangshan Mountain Geopark is an important geological landmark and tourist attraction. In this paper, we apply fission track dating to examine the uplift and exhumation processes that created the Huangshan Mountains and provide a timeline for their development. In addition to being an important scientific contribution, this information can be used on guided tours and to promote tourism. The results of eight apatite fission-track analyses suggest three age groups: 56, 45-30, and 15 Ma. These age groups are related to the uplifting-erosion processes involved in forming ancient multilevel denudation planes at 85-50, 45-30, and 24-5 Ma, respectively. The scenic area has experienced three stages of thermal evolution. The first stage occurred before 80 Ma and the third stage after 13 Ma. The three stages had varying cooling rates: 2.69, 0.62, and 4.23°C/Ma, respectively. Uplifting rates also varied: 0.08, 0.02, and 0.12 mm/a. The uplifting ranges were also variable: 1.14, 1.57, and 4.00 km, respectively. Significant uplifting differences between diverse areas are obvious and there were four magnitudes of cumulative uplifting range: 4060-3950, 3760-3490, 3190-3070, and 2650 m. The surface uplifting range varied from 450 to 2230 m. Denudation and uplifting amount averaged 2340 and 3400 m, respectively. The 1060 m difference between them is the average elevation at present. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]