HKDSE Geography/E1/Hong Kong's Landscape
< HKDSE Geography | E1
In this chapter, we will look at how various factors shape Hong Kong's landscape. Let's look at Hong Kong's general landscape first.
| Relief | Hilly |
| Slopes | Steep |
| Highest point | Tai Mo Shan |
| Ridges | NE to SW; disjointed with abrupt height changes |
| Points of high altitude | East NT, central Lantau |
| Natural lowlands | Rare; found as narrow coastal plains and river valleys |
| Floodplains | Largest extent of lowland: Yuen Long, Kam Tin, Faling, all floodplains |
| Coastal plains | In bay areas and reclaimed lowlands (both sides of Victoria Harbour) |
| Rivers | Numerous |
| Longest river | Sham Chun River |
| Other rivers | Short and lack a middle course |
| Gradient | Steep until they reach lowlands |
| Section before lowlands | Upper course |
| After that | Lower course |
| Rivers | Straight |
| Rivers drain into | Small lowland basins like Sha Tin Valley, Mui Wo |
| Stream order | 3 to 4 |
| Most common drainage patterns | Dendritic is the most common, followed by radial and rectangular |
| Coastline | Long and indented |
| Landforms | Bays, headlands, peninsulas, offshore islands |
| Largest island | Lantau |
| Submerged landscape | In East NT; created in the last glacial age when the sea level rose* |
*Hills became islands. Spurs and ridges became headlands. Valleys became water inlets like Tolo Channel.
In later parts, we will discuss how Hong Kong's landscape is affected by rock type, internal and external processes, and human activities.