Natural craftwork produced by magma
Orbicular Gabbro around Hwangnyeongsan Mountain, rock made by magma slowly hardening deep underground about 60 million years ago, has a surface of orbicular texture on which minerals are arranged in concentric circle shapes around the core.
Gabbro is a rare rock, hard to find in Korea. Orbicular Gabbro holds high academic value, having been reported as one of a kind in Asia and rare in the world. It is Busan Geopark’s top attraction, designated Natural Monument No. 267.
Name and history
Orbicular Gabbro distributed halfway up Hwangnyeongsan Mountain is a rock group and an important material for researching how the earth formed. Orbicular Gabbro, exceedingly rare all over the world, has been found in 14 locations in eight countries, with Hwangnyeongsan Mountain being the first found in the East. The name Hwangnyeongsan, where Orbicular Gabbro is located, seems to originate from Geochilsan-guk (kingdom) that existed in the old Dongnae area. Geochilsan is the Korean expression of “rugged mountain” in idu script. It is interpreted that the place name Hwangnyeongsan results from using its meaning and Chinese characters. In 1422 (7th year of King Sejong’s reign), beacon fire stations, an important means of military communication, were installed on the tops of mountains in Dongnae-bu (town).
These beacon fire stations were connected to others in Ganbiosan Mountain in Haeundae in the east, Gubong in the west and Beomeosa and Gyemyeongsan in the north.
Tourist information
Mt.Hwangnyeongsan
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Hwangnyeongsan Mountain with Orbicular Gabbro at its foot, located at the center of Busan Metropolitan City, is a 428-meter mountain with beacon fire stations at the top, bordering Busanjin-gu, Nam-gu, Suyeong-gu and Yeonje-gu.
The exposed part (outcrop) of Orbicular Gabbro, the world’s largest in area, serves as a material of worldwide importance not only for formation of the plate tectonics theory, but also for research on the cause of rock creation.
Jangsan Festival (mountain trail open to the public only once a year)
- Traditional mountain festival held every October
- The summit of Jangsan Mountain, normally a military camp with restricted access, is open for the festival.
- Visitors can enjoy the mountain festival declaration, recitation of announcement to heaven, folk song performance, Daedong Nori (festival of performers and audience), Teobalgi (ritual of treading on the ground) and Korean folk band performance.
Representative vegetation
Gomsol (Black pine tree)
Gomsol, an evergreen needleleaf tree belonging to Pinaceae genus, usually grows on the seashore with some growing further inland along rivers. Golsol, meaning black pine tree, is also called Haesong (Antipathes japonica) because it grows along the seashore.