HONG KONG UNESCO GLOBAL GEOPARK

Description

Essentialsa about the Hong Kong UNESCO Global Geopark in brief

Whoever thinks of Hong Kong almost always has the image of a totally built-up city full of high-rise buildings in mind. What many people don’t know, however, is that Hong Kong also has a lot of unspoiled nature to offer. Probably the best known natural landscape in the urban area of Hong Kong is the Hong Kong UNESCO Global Geopark. Often just called “Hong Kong Geopark” for short, the nature park is located on the eastern edge of Hong Kong on the coast to the South China Sea. Visitors to the Hong Kong Geopark can expect countless beautiful and bizarre-looking landscapes.

The location of the Hong Kong UNESCO Global Geopark

In 2009, several areas covering 150 square kilometers were combined to form the Geopark, which can be roughly divided into the Sai Kung Volcanic Rock Region in the south and the Northeast New Territories Sedimentary Rock Region in the north. These two regions in turn consist of four country parks each. The geopark extends north-south from the Kat O and Ap Chau island groups to the Ninepin island group. To the northeast, the park is bordered by the island of Tung Ping Chau.

The visitor centers of the Hong Kong UNESCO Global Geopark

The best starting point for a visit to the Hong Kong UNESCO Global Geopark is the park’s two visitor centers, the Geopark Visitor Centre and the Volcano Discovery Centre.

The Geopark Visitor Centre offers visitors information about the geopark and Hong Kong’s geological history in five exhibition halls and an outdoor area. In the outdoor area, various rocks are exhibited in the Rock Academy.

At the Volcano Discovery Centre, visitors to the geopark can get lots of useful information about what to expect in the park and how best to explore the landscape. In addition, the Discovery Centre shows how the landscape has been shaped by volcanism over the past 100 million years and exhibits volcanic rocks from around the world.

The Sai Kung Volcanic Rock Region

The highlights in the Sai Kung Volcanic Rock Region are:

High Island

High Island is probably the best place to view the remarkable geological formations of the Geopark. Visible from here are the famous hexagonal volcanic fissures along the coast, which are about 14o million years old and up to 30 meters high. To ensure that visitors can safely marvel at High Island’s sea cave up close, the High Island Geo Walking Trail has been equipped with a wooden walkway. The eroding landscapes of Tai Long Wan are also remarkable.

Sharp Island

Sharp Island is located about two kilometers southeast of Sai Kung. The island is covered with very old volcanic rocks from the Cretaceous period. To the west of the island is a sedimentary coastal landscape, a so-called “tombolo”, which forms an almost 250 meter long sandbank connecting Sharp Island and nearby Kiu Tau Island. At low tide, this creates a temporary bridge over the water between the two islands.

Ung Kong Group

The Ung Kong Group consists of Bluff, Wang Chau and Basalt Island. The forces of sea and wind have contributed to the formation of numerous steep cliffs and rock arches on the southeastern coast of the islands, including the 30-meter-high rock arch of Wang Chau and the 45-meter-high arch of Basalt Island.

Ninepin Group

The Ninepin archipelago is located about 15 kilometers from Sai Kung and forms the southernmost part of the geopark. In total, the group consists of 29 islands, which were probably formed about 140 million years ago during a volcanic eruption. Hexagonal stone columns are also found here, but with a diameter of up to two meters they are much smaller than on High Island.

The Northeast New Territories Sedimentary Rock Region

The highlights in the Northeast New Territories Sedimentary Rock Region are:

Double Haven

The mountains and islands of Double Haven were formed by volcanic eruptions about 160 million years ago, when lava mixed with volcanic ash and new rock layers were formed. Later, rivers of sand and rock mixture flowed down from the high mountains and formed the coastal area, which consists of sedimentary rock about 500 meters thick. Finally, 6,000 to 8,000 years ago, rising sea levels flooded the river valleys in Double Haven, resulting in the formation of the indented coastlines with headlands and bays.

Tung Ping Chau

The approximately one square meter island of Tung Ping Chau is the northeasternmost area of the Geopark and the easternmost point of Hong Kong. With an age of “only” about 55 to 65 million years, the rocks of Tung Ping Chau are the geologically youngest formation of Hong Kong. Nevertheless, the island is very popular with visitors because of its spectacular rock formations.

Ap Chau

With an area of just 0.04 square kilometers, Ap Chau Island is the smallest inhabited island in Hong Kong. It consists mainly of breccias, which have a rust-like color due to oxidized iron in the rocks. These rocks are found in Hong Kong only in the Ap Chau and Kat O areas. In the north of the island, there is a surf gate called Duck’s Eye. Due to the surf of the sea, over the course of 8,000 years, the rock eroded and an arch about 10 meters long was formed at a height of two meters.

Kat O

Kat O (Crooked Island) is a fishing island and consists mostly of tuff from the Jurassic. Most areas are overgrown, only at the coast the rocks can be recognized. Small portions of reddish breccia can also be found here.

Wong Chuk Kok Tsui

Southeast of Ap Chau and Kat O, on the Tolo Channel, lies Cape Wong Chuk Kok Tsui (English: “Bluff Head”). Here, with an age of about 400 million years, the oldest rocks of Hong Kong can be found. As a result of crustal movement, faults occurred in the originally horizontal layers, which were pushed vertically upwards. Individual rocks weathered in the water over time, resulting in strange-looking rock formations. The most famous of these formations is the so-called Devil’s Fist.