Sharp Island
- Not to be confused with Sharp Island (Ontario) in the Georgian Bay
Sharp Island or Kiu Tsui Chau (Chinese: 橋咀洲) is the largest island in the Kiu Tsui Country Park located at Port Shelter of Sai Kung, Hong Kong.[1] Tourists go there for BBQ activities, fishing, swimming as well as diving. Sharp Island is under the administration of Sai Kung District.
Geography
The island has a maximum elevation of 136 m and an area of 1 km².[2] The two beaches Half Moon Bay Beach (廈門灣泳灘), also known as Hap Mun Bay, and Kiu Tsui Beach (橋咀泳灘) are located on the island.[1] Both are managed by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department.[3]
When the predicted tides at Ko Lau Wan is lower than or equal to +1.40 meter, visitors can go to an inshore islet named Kiu Tau (橋頭) on foot. For more details, please visit the Hong Kong Observatory website .
Different kind of volcanic rocks can be found on Sharp Island. The most frequent ones are rocks with a peculiar pattern on the surface. Other rocks have an unusual pineapple shaped form.
History
Origin of the different kinds or rocks
It is believed that about 140 million years ago a volcano was located in Sai Kung. Sharp Island was according to that on the margin of the caldera. This is probably the reason for the widely distributed different volcanic rocks from different geological periods around Sharp Island.
Formation of the tombolo
The sea currents near Sharp Island are pushing sand and gravel near the shore. After several years they formed a tombolo, a natural bridge made of different sized rocks and sand – connecting Sharp Island and Kiu Tau. At high tide the tombolo is submerged in water and thus can only be seen when the tide goes out.
Biography
There are over 70% of stony corals coverage around the island. An endangered flora Tetrathyrium subcordatum is found on the south of the island.
Transport
Kai-tos are available near Sai Kung Public Pier. The two-way trip to Sharp Island is about $20 and will take around 15mins for one trip. Frequency of kai-tos are 15mins on weekends and holidays; 30mins on weekdays.
Boat rowling to Sharp Island will spent about an hour and a half.
See also
References
- 1 2 Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department: Kiu Tsui Country Park
- ↑ Hu, Puwei; Xing, Fuwu; Chen, Lin; Wang, Meina; Wang, Faguo; Chen, Hongfeng (2011). "Vegetation and vascular plant diversity of islands surrounding Port Shelter, Hong Kong, China". Biodiversity Science. V19 (05). pp. 605–609. Archived from the original on 1 December 2015.
- ↑ Leisure and Cultural Services Department: Information of Beaches: Sai Kung
External links
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Coordinates: 22°21′39″N 114°17′43″E / 22.36071°N 114.29523°E