Can Ty Old Iron-wood Forest
18/10/2021
Sin Suoi Ho Village, Can Ty Commune (Quan Ba District) of the Mong ethnic group is located on the "Mien River canyon" with steep limestone cliffs alternating with hanging valley, travertine terraces etc. In particular on the travertine terrace at Sin Suoi Ho there remains a forest of very old iron-wood trees with perimeter up to 1.6-5.1m
Sin Suoi Ho Village, Can Ty Commune (Quan Ba District) of the Mong ethnic group is located on the "Mien River canyon" with steep limestone cliffs alternating with hanging valley, travertine terraces etc., all are regarded to be due to the activity of the "Mien River fault". It is also possible to observe here an interesting contact, formed even earlier, between the older limestone (about 400 million years ago) and younger sandstone, siltstone and shale (about 250 million years ago).
In particular on the travertine terrace at Sin Suoi Ho there remains a forest of very old iron-wood trees with perimeter up to 1.6-5.1m. Often seen usually in limestone areas where lack both soil and water - the most essential components for plants to grow, the iron-wood trees grow very slow, taking hundreds years to become big, hence their wood is very hard, perhaps among the few hardest woods in Vietnam. According to the scientists, the iron-wood trees in this village are about 250 years old and belongs to the reddish iron-wood species (Exentrodendron tonkinense Gagnep.), which are even rarer in Vietnam.
Despite living in such a precarious situation, the local people still retain this forest. It is certainly for them a sacred forest, which together with them stands challenging the time and all the harsh conditions of the Plateau. The Can Ty Old Forest, in a way, is symbolic for the vitality of the local people in the Dong Van UNESCO Global Geopark.
Management Board of Dongvan Geopark