Chessboard Shoal 棋盘滩

About Chessboard Shoal

Geologists writing in the Journal of South China Normal University surveyed the stratigraphy, lithology, structure and landforms of the reach, counted the tectonic joints, and compared the site with other stretches of the same river that share its geological base. They concluded that the sandstone's tendency to develop X-shaped extensional joints under lateral stress supplies the material basis for the pattern, that the river's particular hydrological conditions are the main force that opened it out, and that the horizontal structure of the beds together with the trumpet-shaped form of the river bed are the controlling factors in both its formation and its survival. Their paper appeared in the Journal of South China Normal University (Natural Science Edition) in 2016.

What to look for

• The pavement itself, a spread of roughly 15,600 square metres of the river bed divided into rectangular blocks
• The range in block size, from about a quarter of a square metre up to three square metres
• The joint pattern in the sandstone, which the geologists identify as X-shaped extensional jointing
• The trumpet-shaped widening of the river bed that the study treats as a control on the pattern's survival

Location & getting there

Getting to Chessboard Shoal

Use an authorised visitor route. Cave sections, geological sites and access roads can close independently, so confirm the area that your ticket covers.

• Search for 棋盘滩 with 百色市 and 田东县.