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The Environment
A SMALL part of the Chinese mainland and a series of small offshore islands less than 100 miles south of the Tropic of Cancer, make up the territory of Hong Kong. Between the twin cities of Victoria, on Hong Kong Island, and Kowloon lies the magnificent natural harbour, one of the busiest in the world.
Hong Kong is situated on the south-east coast of China, 90 miles south-east of Canton and 40 miles east of the Portuguese province of Macau. Geographically it lies between latitudes 22°9′ and 22°37'N and longitudes 113°52' and 114°30′E, adjoining the province of Kwangtung. London is 6,000 miles away, less than 20 hours by jet.
The total land area is 404 square miles (including recent reclamations) of which Hong Kong Island, together with a number of small adjacent islands, comprises 29.2 square miles. Kowloon and Stonecutters Island comprise another 4.3 square miles. The New Territories, which consist of part of the mainland and more than 230 islands, have a total area of 370.5 square miles.
Topography and Geology
Hong Kong's hilly topography has ensured survival of a relatively large expanse of countryside, often favourably compared to some of the most famous scenic areas in the world. Its steep and rugged slopes, rising from sealevel to two and three thousand feet, feature rocky crags, wooded ravines with rushing streams and open grassy slopes. Some 20 freshwater reservoirs of various sizes nestle among these hills giving additional charm to the scenery.
The territory lies on the edge of an eroded mountain chain which extends along the south coast of China, and is largely composed of folded and metamorphosed volcanic and sedimentary rocks with younger intrusions of granitic rocks mostly of the Jurassic Period. The oldest sedimentary rocks found in Hong Kong are those of the Tolo Harbour Formation. This formation is exposed at Ma Shi Chau and con- tains fossils dated as most probably Permian in age.
However, its stratigraphic relationships are somewhat uncertain. The formation of minerals associated with the intrusion of the granitic rocks, has been of limited economic benefit to Hong Kong. Lead, zinc, tungsten, beryl and graphite have been mined intermittently, but only in small quantities. Iron ore mining has been of greater importance and there is currently an active mine at Ma On Shan, which exports concentrated ore to Japan.