A DISCUSSION ON THE DEVELOPMENT HISTORY OF TROPICAL KARST AND ITS PALEOENVIRONMENT IN GUILIN, CHINA

The development of tropical karst in Guilin could be dated back to middle Triassic, i.e. up to 240 million years, and the incipient karst landform was formed from the middle Triassic to the early Jurassic, a period with intensive karstification. Later, the karst in the area has experienced three major periods, that is, the weak period from the middle Jurassic to the late Cretaceous; the intensive period in the Tertiary which was significant to the formation of the old Li River; and the third period lasts the Quaternary period which has completed the typical tropical karst landform. Some ideas about the effect of paleo lake water to the formation of the tropical karst and the ages of caves on different levels in Guilin have been put forward.