Sharp Island

Not to be confused with Sharp Island (Ontario) in the Georgian Bay
Location of Sharp Island within Hong Kong
Kiu Tau connected by tombolo
Beach at Half Moon Bay, on Sharp Island
Kiu Tsui Beach
Tombolo leading to Kiu Tau.

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

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sharp Island.

Coordinates: 22°21′39″N 114°17′43″E / 22.36071°N 114.29523°E / 22.36071; 114.29523

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Saturday, March 26, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.