Resembling the Big Dipper! This is the most flaming volcano in the Yitong volcano group!

It turns out that this is the most fiery volcano in the Yitong volcano group!

The Yitong Volcanic Group consists of 16 volcanic cones, located in Yitong Manchu Autonomous County, Jilin Province, with a distribution area of ​​about 600km2. It was formed in the Oligocene to Pliocene of the Cenozoic Era. Among them, Xiaogushan, Dagushan, Moliqingshan, Ma'anshan, Xijianshan, Dongjianshan and Hengtoushan 7 volcanoes rise from the ground, arranged in the shape of the Big Dipper, resembling the Big Dipper falling to the ground, and are called "Seven Star Mountains". The unique volcanic geological landscape also emerges. If the Tianchi Volcano of Changbai Mountain shows us the majestic, colorful and misty beauty of volcanoes, then the Yitong Volcanic Group gives us the wonder of the painting scroll with meticulous carving and divine strokes. Dagushan Volcano is the highest one in the Yitong Volcanic Group, with an altitude of 430.5 meters, and is known as the first of the "Seven Star Mountains". Dagushan volcano has columnar jointed basalt of varying thicknesses, forming unique volcanic scenery such as tower forests, stone houses, ladders to heaven, and god's chairs that are ingenious and breathtaking. It is the most "fiery" volcano in the Yitong volcanic group.

The approximate location map of the "Seven Stars Mountain" in the Yitong volcano group in Jilin Province (left) and the spatial distribution map of the Big Dipper (right) (both pictures are from the Internet)

Dagushan Volcano of Yitong Volcano Group (This picture comes from the Internet)

Columnar joints of the Yitong volcanic group, Moliqing volcano (this image is the original image)

The columnar joints of the Yitong volcanic group, Xijianshan Volcano and Dongjianshan Volcano (this picture is the original picture)

The Manchu name of Dagushan Volcano is "Altan Emel", which means "golden saddle". The middle part of Dagushan is sunken, with four peaks, namely Talin Peak, Gui Peak, Qingyun Peak and Xiang Peak. The four peaks are different, some are like "golden turtle looking at the sun", some are like "cold dragon lying down", and some are like "giant elephant lying on the ground", just like a magnificent and beautiful landscape painting, which makes people linger. If you drive on the road from Yitong to Liaoyuan, you can see the towering Dagushan Volcano from afar, which will surely arouse your desire to climb the mountain. The southeast peak of Dagushan Volcano is the steepest peak of the volcano. There are climbing chains installed on the northwest slope, and climbers can climb the mountain by pulling the chains. A pavilion was built on the top of the mountain, where you can look at Moliqing Volcano in the north and Xijianshan and Dongjianshan Volcano in the northeast. Dagushan Volcano is surrounded by mountains in the north and continuous mountains in the south, which can make you experience the wonderful artistic conception of "reaching the top of the mountain and looking down on all the small mountains". In addition, the green and brown peridot contained in the basalt of the Dagushan volcano is one of the oldest gemstones in nature. Peridot not only symbolizes peace, luck and serenity, but is also the guardian stone of "Leo". Therefore, climbing the Dagushan volcano will also bring you a feeling of comfort and happiness.

The God's Chair, Pagoda Forest (left), and Ladder to Heaven (middle) are made of columnar basalt of varying thicknesses at Gushan Volcano, and the "gem-grade" mineral olivine contained in the basalt (right) (This image is original)

Seeing the essence through the phenomenon: the basaltic magma that formed the Yitong volcanic group came from the mantle, and the magma was relatively obviously controlled by the northeast-trending Yitong-Shulan Fault Zone during its ascent (the Yitong-Shulan Fault Zone belongs to the southern section of the Yilan-Yitong Fault Zone, and is also one of the important deep fault zones in Jilin Province, while the Yilan-Yitong Fault Zone is one of the northern extension branches of the Tancheng-Lujiang Fault Zone). The basaltic magma with high viscosity gushed out from the magma channel like "squeezing toothpaste", and the "central" intrusive basaltic magma formed a series of sporadic and regularly distributed volcanic domes (i.e. volcanic cones).

The formation of the Yitong volcanic group is mainly due to the intrusion of basaltic magma, accompanied by a small amount of eruption and effusive action. After a long period of denudation, erosion and remnant, the current volcanic cone shape was formed. Therefore, the Yitong volcanic group has not formed obvious craters or depressions equivalent to craters, large-scale lava flows and other volcanic geological landforms, and its pyroclastic rocks are not widely distributed.

The rock types of the Yitong volcanic group are mainly olivine basalts, and the rocks generally contain "mantle rock" inclusions, that is, peridotite inclusions, which are mainly composed of olivine, pyroxene and spinel. The fresh surface of these peridotite inclusions is dark green, and after weathering, it becomes yellow-green or yellow-brown. They are mostly angular-subangular, and the large inclusions can reach 20 cm. The rare basic "intrusive" volcanic eruptions and special volcanic formation mechanism of the Yitong volcanic group are one of the rare volcano types in my country and even in the world. It has great volcanic research value and tourism appreciation value. Now it has gradually become the first choice for nearby residents to go hiking on weekends and other holidays.

References in this issue:

[1] Wang Zhenzhong. Yitong Volcano Group, Jilin Province. Jilin Geology, 1994, 13(2): 8.

[2] Meng Tao, Xing Lixin, Pan Jun, Liu Xiang. The scientific research and tourism value of the geological relics of Yitong volcano group. Jilin Geology, 2008, 27(3): 4.

[3] Ye Xiqing, Xu Zhitao, Sun Liying, Li Zhongwei, Li Mengmeng, Jia Lin. Origin and tectonic significance of Miocene basaltite in Laohushan volcanic area, Jilin. Geochemistry, 2022, 49(4): 1-15.

[4] Yan Donghan, Xu Zhitao, Xu Yueren, Sun Liying, Feng Jingqiao, Han Di. 14C dating of the Siping section of the Yitong-Shulan fault zone and its tectonic significance. Journal of Geodesy and Geodynamics, 2022, 42(8): 835-839.

[5] Ye,

[6] Ye, XQ, Xu, Z. T*., Li, MM, et al. Zircon U–Pb geochronology and geochemistry of the Late Jurassic granite porphyries from central-eastern Jilin Province, NE China: Petrogenesis and tectonic implications[J]. Island Arc, 2022, 31(1), e12464.

This issue of science popularization ends! Friends, see you next time!

Authors of this issue: Ye Xiqing, Sun Liying, Matteo S

Planning: Xu Zhitao Ventura·G Li Mengmeng

Editor: Feng Jingqiao, Gu Guohui, Song Yujia

Reviewer: Pan Xiaodong, Li Zhongwei, Kang Jianhong

Publicity: Zhu Daqing, Guan Sheng, Yan Donghan, Ma Fei, Jia Lin

Produced by: Institute of Volcanology, China Earthquake Administration, Jilin Province Earthquake Administration, Italian Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (Rome), University of Lyon 1 (Natural Sciences), Jilin Province Earthquake Risk Prevention and Control Center

Disclaimer: All pictures and texts in this article are for public benefit and do not have any commercial value.