Located on the east side of the Central Exhibition Hall on the first floor, the Geological Evolution Hall starts with the introduction of Qutang Gorge, a pearl of geological evolution in the world. The developmental stories of the universe, the Earth, and Chongqing are told in chronological order with rock as the clue. There are six units in this hall including Preface, Story of the Earth, Historical Eras, Deciphering Rocks, Rock Turning into Soil, and Natural Forces.

Story of the Earth

As a planet in our solar system in the vast universe, the earth originated from a primordial solar nebula 4.6 billion years ago. Since then, the four major systems that make up the earth, namely lithosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, and biosphere, became interrelated and influenced one another. The earth’s historyhistory is made up of these spheres’ movements and the changes in the landforms and biological phenomena they brought about. This exhibition area mainly displays the origin of cosmic bodies and the earth, the evolution of the earth, and the modern earth and its neighbors. There are fine exhibits such as meteorites reflecting the formation of planets and the 3.8 billion-year-old magnetite quartzite, the ancestor of Chinese rocks.

Plate Movement

The earth’s surface is mainly composed of six plates: the Eurasian plate, the Pacific plate, the Indian plate, the African plate, the American plate, and the Antarctica plate. The interior of the plates is relatively stable. However, the edges of the plates are home to intense tectonic activities such as earthquakes, magmatic activities, tectogenesis, and metamorphism due to the interaction of adjacent plates. This exhibition area mainly displays the relevant contents of plate movement through physical exhibits and dynamic light boxes, and boasts high-quality exhibits such as the video of “Chongqing Drift”.

Sea and Continent Transformation of Chongqing

The evolution of Chongqing’s geological structure entered a stable stage in the Neoproterozoic period (about 800 million years ago), forming a unified Yangtze landmass that belongs to the South China block. Starting from the Qingbaikou Period (780 million years ago), the geological structure of Chongqing went through different stages including land, ice, sea, land, sea, river lake, land, and others successively. In chronological order, this exhibition area shows the history of the sea and continent transformation of Chongqing, with exquisite exhibits such as the Sea and Continent Transformation of Chongqing.

Ancient Bashu Lake

200 million years ago, the Indo-China movement formed mountains on the rims of the basin, and uplifted the Sichuan Platform, with the area inundated by sea water gradually rising as land. The sea basin was thus transformed into a lake basin. Sichuan Basin is almost occupied by a lake, which was called Bashu Lake. This exhibition area shows the formation of the ancient Bashu Lake from sea to lake basin and to a land basin with graphs, texts, and multimedia videos.

Stratums of Chongqing

Rocks of Chongqing are mainly sedimentary rocks, which account for about 95%. The strata are relatively complete, ranging from Qingbaikou Period to Cretaceous Period. It is divided into 85 stratigraphic units, 20 of which are named after iconic places of Chongqing. The rocks of Chongqing formed in different times and environments are stacked in sequence in this exhibition area, which resembles a geological history book, silently telling the over-800-million-years geological history of Chongqing page by page. This area boasts Stratums of Chongqing, one of the most precious exhibits of the gallery, and many other exquisite exhibits.

Rocks and Minerals

Rocks are composed of minerals, which are one of the materials that make up the Earth and the main component of the Earth’s lithosphere. Minerals are natural elements or compounds formed by geological processes. They have a relatively confirmed chemical composition and are the basic units of rocks. At present, there are more than 4,000 known minerals on Earth, most of which are solid. Rocks that contain useful minerals and are valuable for mining are called ores. This exhibition area mainly introduces the chemical composition, seven characteristics, shape, and hardness of minerals, and exhibits the hardest mineral - diamond.

Sedimentary Rocks

Many rocks in Chongqing are sedimentary rocks, which account for about 95%. Sedimentary rocks are solidified from loose sediments on the earth’s surface and near-surface. They are often presented in layers. Sedimentary rocks usually contain the remains of ancient organisms and objects, which we call fossils. This exhibition area mainly introduces the formation principles, type, and color of sedimentary rocks. It has featured exhibits such as rock-making minerals, medicinal minerals, ripple structure, and other fine exhibits.

Magmatic Rocks

The condensation of high-temperature molten magma (the temperature is generally between 700 ~ 1200℃) on the surface or underground forms magmatic rocks, also known as igneous rocks. Magmatic rocks are the main body of the three types of rocks, accounting for 64.7% of the volume of crustal rocks. Magmatic rocks are the products of magmatic development, movement, condensation, and solidification. According to their functions, magmatic rocks can be divided into intrusive rocks and extrusive rocks. There are very few magmatic rocks in Chongqing, mainly distributed in Chengkou County. This exhibition area mainly introduces the structure, form, and characteristic distribution of magmatic rocks and displays Columnar Basalt and other fine exhibits.

Metamorphic Rocks

Metamorphic rocks account for 27% of the crustal volume, but they are rare in Chongqing and only distributed in Youyang County, Chengkou County, and Xiushan County. This exhibition area mainly introduces the formation principles, structural characteristics, and classification of metamorphic rocks.

The Soil of Chongqing

Chongqing has rich and diverse soil types due to its complex geological, geomorphic, and climatic conditions as well as the influences of human activities. The soil of Chongqing can be divided into 5 soil orders, 8 suborders, 12 great groups, 33 subgroups, 76 soil families, and 177 soil series, among which purple soil, yellow soil, paddy soil, lime (rock) soil, and yellow-brown soil are the major five groups, occupying more than 96% of Chongqing’s land area. This exhibition shows 12 great groups and 27 soil families of Chongqing. Cultivated soil is mostly distributed below 1000 meters above sea level, which is the main grain production base of Chongqing. While garden land, forest land, and grassland soil are mainly distributed over 1,000 meters above sea level, which represent the precious resources of forest and pasture land in Chongqing. This exhibition area mainly introduces Chongqing’s soil distribution, soil types, and soil functions mainly by displaying soil samples with explanations in texts or pictures. There are high-quality exhibits such as Chongqing’s precious soil - the Purple Soil.

Geological Processes

Geological processes are a variety of natural processes that form and change the earth’s material composition, internal structure, and external morphological characteristics, which can be divided into internal geological processes and external geological processes. Plate movement is believed to be the underlying cause of fractures, folds, and geological processes such as volcanic activities and rock metamorphism. The thermal energy from the sun causes the constant movement of the atmosphere and water, which renders the earth’s surface damaged by weathering, erosion, and other effects. The internal and external geological forces of the Earth coexist and influence each other. This exhibition area, with excellent exhibits such as specimens of folds, mainly displays the types, prototypes, and influences of common geological processes in Chongqing and the surrounding provinces and cities.

Yangtze River and Three Gorges

The surging Yangtze River is like the main artery of China. From the Ba-Shu area to eastern China, it has nurtured a thousand-year civilization. It is a symbol of the Chinese nation and Chinese civilization, as well as one of the important areas for the survival and evolution of early human beings. As a saying goes, “There will always be poems for the Three Gorges”. Literati of all ages have been full of praise for the magnificent and beautiful sceneries of the Three Gorges. Using dioramas, multimedia audio, and graphics, this exhibition area takes us back to hundreds of millions of years to see how the Yangtze River and the Three Gorges were formed. This exhibition area has the model of “Tracing the Source of the Yangtze River” and other fine exhibits.