Port Island or Chek Chau () (cek3 zau1) is an island of Hong Kong, under the administration of

Tai Po District Tai Po District is one of the 18 districts of Hong Kong. The suburban district covers the areas of Tai Po New Town (including areas such as Tai Po Market, , Tai Po Industrial Estate, Tai Wo Estate), Tai Po Tau, Tai Po Kau, Hong Lok Yue ...

. It is located in

Tolo Channel Tolo Channel or Chek Mun Hoi Hap () is a Channel (geography), channel south of Plover Cove in Hong Kong connecting Tolo Harbour to Mirs Bay. At Mirs Bay end, it is named North Channel, Hong Kong, North Channel. The Chinese name ''Chek Mun'' mean ...

, in the northeastern

New Territories The New Territories (N.T., Traditional Chinese characters, Chinese: ) is one of the three areas of Hong Kong, alongside Hong Kong Island and Kowloon. It makes up 86.2% of Hong Kong's territory, and contains around half of the population of H ...

. Its name literally means red island; after the

sedimentary Sedimentary rocks are types of rock formed by the cementation of sediments—i.e. particles made of minerals (geological detritus) or organic matter (biological detritus)—that have been accumulated or deposited at Earth's surface. Sedime ...

rocks rich in

iron Iron is a chemical element; it has symbol Fe () and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, forming much of Earth's o ...

that form this island. and volcanoes

Dinosaur fossils discovery

On October 23, 2024, the

Development Bureau The Development Bureau (DEVB; ) is a policy bureau of the Government of Hong Kong responsible for urban planning and renewal, land administration, infrastructure development, building safety, landscape, greening & tree development, water suppl ...

announced that experts discovered

dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic Geological period, period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the #Evolutio ...

skeletons

fossils A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

in Chek Chau, which was the first time dinosaur fossils were discovered in

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

. According to expert estimates, the

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserve ...

belongs to the

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 143.1 to 66 mya (unit), million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era (geology), Era, as well as the longest. At around 77.1 million years, it is the ...

period, about 145 million to 66 million years ago; the

may have been buried under

sand Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is usually defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural ...

and

gravel Gravel () is a loose aggregation of rock fragments. Gravel occurs naturally on Earth as a result of sedimentation, sedimentary and erosion, erosive geological processes; it is also produced in large quantities commercially as crushed stone. Gr ...

after death, then washed out of the surface by

floods A flood is an overflow of water (list of non-water floods, or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are of significant con ...

, and then buried again where it was found

location. The

Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (; formerly the Agriculture and Fisheries Department () before 2000, of the Hong Kong Government is responsible for agriculture and fisheries in Hong Kong, conservation projects and issu ...

later admitted that the fossils were discovered back in 2013 but the department has to prioritize other work and so the fossils were stuck in identification for 11 years.

Conservation

Port Island has been designated as a

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...

since 1979 because of its ornithological interest.

References

External links

Danxia wonder at sea － Port Island
Uninhabited islands of Hong Kong Tai Po District Hong Kong UNESCO Global Geopark Underwater diving sites in Hong Kong {{TaiPo-geo-stub

Dinosaur fossils discovery

Conservation

See also

References

External links