Chaeseokgang
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Location301-1, Gyeoksang-gil Byeonsan-myeon, Buan-gun, Jeollabuk-do
- CategoryTour/ Natural Environment
- Korean채석강
- Chinese採石江
- FieldGeography / Natural Geography
- Contents TypePlace Name / Name of Natural Place
- AreaBuan-gun, Jeollabuk-do
- Location301-1, Gyeoksang-gil Byeonsan-myeon, Buan-gun, Jeollabuk-do
- Definition
- Jeollabuk-do West Coast National Geopark in Gyeokpo-ri, Byeonsan-myeon, Buan-gun, Jeollabuk-do.
- Origin of the Name
- Chaeseokgang sounds like a river in Korean, but it is actually named after a location in China called the same where Lee Taebaek (aka Li Bai), a great poet of the Tang dynasty, allegedly drowned embracing the moon's reflection on a river while indulgent in drink.
- Natural Environment
- Chaeseokgang is a 1.5 km-long sea cliff formed between Gyeokpo Port and Gyeopo Beach in Byeonsan Peninsula. The well-developed sedimentary layer of rocks looks like a stack of books. It shows how the sedimentary layers were formed, along with changes in crustal movements, which attracts geologists. The place also attracts visitors with the beautiful sunset scenery.
Chaeseokgang is made up of conglomerates, pebbly sandstones, sandstones, and shales [dark-grey pelites], and there are dike swarms in which these rocks mixed with each other. The sedimentary rocks of Chaeseokgang are said to date back to the Cretaceous Period of the Mesozoic Era through absolute age dating of granites placed at the bottom and rhyolites at the top. The area where sedimentary layers called Gyeokpori Layers are heaped is called Gyeokpo Basin. The sedimentation started in the early Cretaceous Period and ended in the late Cretaceous Period. The sedimentary layers show small-scale reverse faults, normal faults, flexure and rift structures, intrusion structures, wave-cut platforms, and sea caves. Researchers think that they were a result of slump and slide developed in the lake environment, cohesionless debris flow, debris fall, and low- and high-concentration turbidity currents.
The sedimentary materials that formed these sedimentary rocks in Chaeseokgang are those exposed to the earth’s surface through the process of hardening under pressure and heat after being heaped in a freshwater lake environment. Casual observers are likely to think erroneously that the sedimentary layers are a result of sea action, as the place happens to be close to the sea. Chaeseokgang is a rock littoral zone, and Gyeokpo Beach is a sand littoral zone. Walking from Gyeokpo Beach, you will find the sedimentary layers and bottom on your left, a flame-like structure formed by granular unconsolidated sedimentary materials as they were pressed down by weight, the trace of waves formed within shales dating back to the Cretaceous Period of the Mesozoic Era, and the traces of waves currently being formed on the sandy beach.
Walking a little farther, you will find a soft-sediment deformation structure, which is a syndepositional fold structure in specific sediment layers. Such is formed through the disturbance of layers by an earthquake or the flow or the like of water contained in sedimentary materials while remaining unconsolidated at the time of sedimentation. You can find intrusions penetrating into the sedimentary layers. At 5-6 m thick, they are intrusive rocks made of rhyolites or andesites. They are extended across the mountain to Gyeokpo Port. There are plant stem fossils in nearby sedimentary layers, but it is not easy to find them due to barnacles and others covering the area. A little farther toward Gyeokpo Port, you will find rocks such as conglomerates, sandstones, shales, sedimentary structures, and sea caves or marine plateaus formed by waves. Thus, the place is a nice ground for studying geoscience..
- Current Status
- Chaeseokgang is said to be one of the eight sights of Byeonsan. Chaeseokgang and Jeokbyeokgang Cliffed Coasts were designated as Scenic Point No. 13 on November 17, 2004. In September 13, 2017, Chaeseokgang, Jiksopokpo Falls, Solseom Island, Mohang, and Wido Island were designated as geological attractions of the Jeollabuk-do West Coast National Geopark. At Dagibong Peak of Chaeseokgang, Gyeokpo Port, Gyeokpo Beach, and the West Sea come into view. Further north, you will reach Jeokbyeokgang Cliff. The following Byeonsan Masil-gil course 3 is recommended as a leisurely walk: Seongcheon Port – Haseom Lookout – Banwol Village – Jageundang Sandy Hill - Jeokbyeokgang Cliff- Chaeseokgang–Gyeokpo Port. The place is also a perfect location for enjoying the spectacular sunset scenery.