Youngest sedimentary rock in Hong Kong － Tung Ping Chau

Youngest sedimentary rock in Hong Kong － Tung Ping Chau

Background Information

Ping Chau, or Tung Ping Chau to differentiate from Peng Chau, sits in Mirs Bay of the northeastern waters. It is the easternmost outlying island of Hong Kong. This crescent-shaped island, measuring 600 metres long and 200 metres wide, is renowned for strange rock formations. Unlike most other rock types across the territory, the island is made up of sedimentary rock including siltstone, dolomitic siltstone, mudstone and chert. This sedimentary rock strata is known as Ping Chau Formation. Many extremely well preserved fossils have been found within the formation. Fossil studies, investigations of rock properties and regional geophysics, as well as research in climatic changes during ancient times have confirmed that this formation is the product of sedimentation which took place in Early Tertiary. Layer upon layer of rock form a bewildering structure. The strata looks just like a huge book, guarding great mysteries of geological history within its numerous pages. Since no sediments after Early Tertiary have successfully solidified into enduring rock, Ping Chau Formation is the youngest rock in Hong Kong's geological history. Tung Ping Chau is a popular holiday destination. Its many fascinating attractions, such as wave erosion landscape, the shale that resembles a layered sponge cake and the unusually flat lay of the island itself, have drawn thousands of visitors to the island.

「Three Flats and One Wonder」

Three flats are flat sea, flat island and flat rock. Tung Ping Chau is only 1.1 square kilometres in size. An island of extremely low elevations, it really lives up to its name. The highest point in the southeast, Hok Ngam Teng, rises a mere 48 metres above sea level, while the highest peak in the northwest, Au Kung Shan, is only 37 metres. As for the wonder, it refers to the famous shale.

「Top Rock」 The Tung Ping Chau shale is rated as the No. 1 rock in Hong Kong for the following reasons : Clearly defined bedding and distinctive sheet conformation This is the most significant characteristic of shale. Every layer is 1 to 5 mm thick. Overlapping each other, the coarser-grained siltstone layers and the finer-grained mudstone layers have clear lamination and sophisticated structure. These shale beds are believed to date from Late Cretaceous to Early Tertiary. It is a safe guess that Mirs Bay and Tung Ping Chau were a remote salt lake detached from land. As a result of sedimentation over long ages, shale resembling a layered sponge cake emerged in the hypoxic, highly salt and still water. Attractive and colourful Shale is usually made up of pyrite, geolite and augite. The vivid colours come from micrograined calcium, iron and magnesium particles that the rock contains. After formation, the rock was exposed to weathering and wave action, creating eye-dazzling plum, ochre, charcoal and bottle-green outcrops. Vague ripple marks Close observation will reveal vague or faint ripple marks in every layer. We can thus infer that the rock was close to the lake surface or submerged in relatively shallow water at the time of formation. In such setting, even small ripples would leave detectable marks. Emulsion and regeneration of vertical lamination At Chau Mei Kok, you can find vertically fused or dotted reticulation on the shale sections caused by emulsion. As shale has high calcium content, when it is subjected to tidal, wave and sea current erosion, as well as impacts of salinization, wind, sun and rain, it develops melted calcium sections similar to stalactites. Later when the melted calcium is released, it flows out vertically at the outcrop tips or agglomerates into visible dotted reticulation. This is called vertical emulsion.