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Geography of Hong Kong


Location: Eastern Asia, bordering the South China Sea and China

Geographic coordinates: 22 15 N, 114 10 E

Area:
total: 1,092 km²
land: 1,042 km²
water: 50 km²
Area - comparative: six times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries:
total: 30 km
border countries: China 30 km (Shenzhen Special Economic Zone)

Coastline: 733 km
Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 3 nm

Climate: tropical monsoon; cool and humid in winter, hot and rainy from spring through summer, warm and sunny in fall

Average temperature: 23 degree C
Average annual precipitation: 2,214 mm

See also: Climate of Hong Kong

Terrain: hilly to mountainous with steep slopes; lowlands in north

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: South China Sea, 0 m
highest point: Tai Mo Shan, 958 m, in the New Territories

Principal peaks of Hong Kong:

  1. Tai Mo Shan - 958 m
  2. Lantau Peak (Fung Wong Shan) - 934 m, on Lantau Island
  3. Sunset Peak (Tai Tung Shan) - 869 m, on Lantau Island
  4. Ma On Shan - 702 m
  5. Wong Leng - 639 m
  6. Kowloon Peak (Fei Ngo Shan) - 602 m
  7. Castle Peak - 583 m
  8. Tate's Cairn (Tai Lo Shan) - 577 m
  9. Kai Kung Leng - 572 m
  10. Tai To Yan - 566 m
  11. Victoria Peak - 552 m, on Hong Kong Island
  12. Needle Hill - 532 m
  13. Mount Parker - 532 m
  14. Lion Rock - 495 m
  15. High West - 494 m
  16. Sharp Peak (Nam She Tsim) - 468 m
  17. Beacon Hill - 457 m
  18. Violet Hill - 433 m
  19. High Junk Peak (Tiu Yue Yung) - 344 m

Natural resources: outstanding deepwater harbor, feldspar

Land use:
arable land: 6%
permanent crops: 1%
permanent pastures: 1%
forests and woodland: 20%
other: 72% (1997 est.)
Irrigated land: 20 km² (1997 est.)

Natural hazards: occasional typhoons

Environment - current issues: air and water pollution from rapid urbanization

See also: Ecology of Hong Kong

Geography - note: 235 islands including Hong Kong Island, Lantau Island, Cheung Chau, Lamma Island, Peng Chau and Tsing Yi.

See also:

External link