Chinanews, Changshan, Oct 11 – Early this month, a research team from Hunan Longshan Tourism Bureau was carrying out an investigation of the forests in Taiping Mountain, Longshan County. When the research team arrived at the Mengdong River bank, they discovered a lot of stone caves. These "stone caves" were later confirmed by archeologists to be the potholes formed during the fourth Glacier Period about 2-3 million years ago, the Changsha Evening News reported.The discovery could be called a world geological wonder in terms of its size. The potholes vary in shape: some are round-shaped and some are oval-shaped. The potholes also vary in size: some are big and others are small. The inside walls of the potholes are smooth and delicate and the side parts of the potholes are well connected with the bottom part. Some of the potholes are inlaid into the red sandstones and some are formed under the water. The discovery will provide useful information for scientists to study the climate and the environmental changes in ancient times.Head of the Longshan Tourism Bureau Duan Ping told our reporter about how they discovered the pothole belt. According to him, on October 6 he and four of his workmates invited two experts, Liu Yunguo and Li Zhongwu from Hunan University to carry out an investigation in the forests.When they first saw the potholes, Li Zhongwu, a doctorate holder, presumed that the round holes might be the geological traces left at the fourth Glacier Period.The research team walked for a dozen kilometers from the beginning to the middle part of the river valley and they discovered a lot of potholes existing on both sides of the river valley. They think that this might be a geological wonder rarely seen in other parts of the world. Different from the other potholes they previously knew, the potholes discovered in Hunan extend 37.8 kilometers like a belt on both sides of the river valley, which is really amazing, said Liu Yunguo.