View source for Dabie Mountains

{{Short description|Mountain range in China}}
{{For|the larger mountains to the west|Daba Mountains}}
{{More citations needed|date=April 2009}}
{{Infobox mountain
| name = Dabie Mountains
| photo = 索道.jpg
| photo_caption = [[Tiantangzhai]] in the Dabie Mountains
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| elevation_ref = {{convert|1774|m|ft|sp=us}}
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| location = [[China]]
| range = 
| map = China |relief=1
| map_caption = Location in China
| map_size = 
| label_position = right
| coordinates = {{coord|31|15|N|115|00|E|type:mountain_scale:100000|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
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The '''Dabie Mountains''' ({{zh|t=大別山|s=大别山|p=Dàbié Shān|first=t}}) are a major mountain range located in central [[China]]. Running northwest-to-southeast, they form the main watershed between the [[Huai River|Huai]] and [[Yangtze]] rivers. The range also marks the boundary between [[Hubei]] Province (near [[Tingqian]] town) and its neighbors of [[Henan]] (to the north) and [[Anhui]] (to the east). During the late 1920s and early 1930s, the Dabie Mountains were a stronghold of the [[Chinese Communist Party]] and the location of the [[Eyuwan Soviet]].

The western part of Dabie Mountains has a low elevation of only {{convert|1,000|–|1,300|ft|meter|abbr=off|sp=us}}, though there are a few peaks rising to {{convert|3,000|ft|m|abbr=off|sp=us}}. The eastern part is higher, averaging more than {{convert|3,300|ft|m|abbr=off|sp=us}}. The highest peak is [[Mount Tianzhu]] at {{convert|5,820|ft|m|abbr=off|sp=us}}, with several others topping {{convert|5,000|ft|m|abbr=off|sp=us}} including the {{convert|1,729.13|m|sp=us}} high [[Tiantangzhai]].

==Landscape==
The range is heavily forested (about 85% coverage) and yields valuable [[bamboo]] as well as [[oak]], particularly [[Cork (material)|cork]] oak, making it China's chief cork-producing area. The region is median income in China, and subsistence agriculture is the heart of its economy with rice and tea predominating.

The main transportation route across the higher range is from [[Macheng]] in [[Hubei]] to [[Huangchuan]] in Henan, through the [[Huai River]] valley. The main rail and road crossings go north from provincial capital [[Wuhan]], through the lower elevations.

In 2009, the high-speed [[Hewu Passenger Railway]] opened, connecting [[Hefei]] and [[Wuhan]] along a short and direct route. It uses numerous tunnels when crossing the mountain range.

Other notable major railways lines that passes through the Dabie Mountains include the [[Beijing-Guangzhou high-speed railway]] that connects [[Beijing]] and [[Guangzhou]] via [[Wuhan]]. Numerous tunnels are used when crossing the mountain range between [[Zhumadian]] and Wuhan.

==Geology==
[[File:Dabie Mountains landscape - P1050200.JPG|thumb|Dabie Mountains in [[Jinzhai County]], Anhui as seen from the [[Hewu Railway]].]]
Geologically, the Dabie Mountains are characterized by the occurrence of eclogite-facies ultrahigh-pressure [[Metamorphic rock|metamorphic rocks]]. Geographically, the range is a complex, stressed structure, making it and the surrounding area subject to earthquakes. In late 2005, a 5.7 magnitude earthquake centered in the northwest corner of [[Jiangxi]] province, just south of [[Jiujiang]] on the [[Yangtze]] killed at least 15 people, injured hundreds, and left several thousand people homeless. It caused tremors in [[Qichun]] County in [[Hubei]] province and beyond, even reaching as far as the provincial capital of [[Wuhan]].

==International Forest Park==
This scenic park centered on Tiantangzhai is a key tourist attraction in the highest part of the Dabie mountain range. Total area of the park is 300 square kilometers. Located in [[Hubei]] province's [[Luotian]] County and close to the border with Anhui Province, the park is about 68 kilometers from [[Luotian]] town, 140 kilometers from [[Macheng]], 150 kilometers from [[Huangshi]], and 210 kilometers from the Hubei provincial capital, [[Wuhan]].

==References==
{{Commons category|Dabie Mountains}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060206102316/http://www.cnhubei.com/dabieshan/01.htm Dabieshan International Forest Park website] (with many photographs), in Chinese.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060806103354/http://huanggang.hbnw.gov.cn/hgms/bie_mtain.htm Huanggang Government website] page on Dabie Mountains (in Chinese)

{{Mountain ranges of China}}
{{Henan topics}}
{{Hubei topics}}
{{Anhui topics}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Mountain ranges of China]]
[[Category:Geography of Central China]]
[[Category:Mountain ranges of Hubei]]
[[Category:Mountains of Henan]]
[[Category:Mountains of Anhui]]