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1UpTravel - Geography Info and Facts of Countries : . - Macau


Macau Geography and Facts

Location: Eastern Asia, bordering the South China Sea and China

Geographic coordinates: 22 10 N, 113 33 E

Map references: Southeast Asia

Area:
total: 21 sq km
land: 21 sq km
water: 0 sq km

Area - comparative: about 0.1 times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries:
total: 0.34 km
border countries: China 0.34 km

Coastline: 40 km

Maritime claims: not specified

Climate: subtropical; marine with cool winters, warm summers

Terrain: generally flat

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: South China Sea 0 m
highest point: Coloane Alto 174 m

Natural resources: NEGL

Land use:
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 2%
permanent pastures: 0%
forests and woodland: 0%
other: 98% (1998 est.)

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Natural hazards: NA

Environment - current issues: NA

Geography - note: essentially urban; one causeway and two bridges connect the two islands of Coloane and Taipa to the peninsula on mainland


Geography
Macau is located on the southeastern coast of China with an overall area of 21.45 sq. km. and comprises of a peninsula and 2 islands in the Pearl River Delta.

The city of Macau is built on the peninsula which is linked to its nearest island of Taipa by two bridges - 2.5 km and 4.5 km respectively. Taipa is joined to the island of Coloane by a 2.2 km causeway.

The imposing gateway "Portas do Cerco" (Border Gate) built in 1849 on a narrow isthmus at the northern end of the peninsula, joins Macau to China's Guangdong Province.


Climate
Macau's climate is moderate to hot, with an average annual temperature of just over 20°C. The humidity is high with an average range between 75% and 90%.

Autumn (October - December) is the best season as days are sunny and warm and humidity low. Winter (January - March) is cold but sunny.

The humidity starts to build up in April and from May to September, the climate is hot and humid with rain and occasional tropical storms (typhoons). It is best to avoid June and October as typhoons are most common during that period.


Macau, also spelled Macao, is a Portuguese territory on the southeast coast of China. It consists of the city of Macao, which occupies a peninsula, and three small islands.

The territory has a population of 436,000 and covers about 15 square kilometres. It lies at the mouth of the Zhu Jiang (Pearl River), about 65 kilometres west of Hong Kong.

Colonized by the Portuguese in the 16th century, Macau was the first European settlement in the Far East. Pursuant to an agreement signed by China and Portugal on 13 April 1987, Macau became the Macau Special Administrative Region (SAR) of China on 20 December 1999.

China has promised that, under its "one country, two systems" formula, China's socialist economic system will not be practiced in Macau and that Macau will enjoy a high degree of autonomy in all matters except foreign and defense affairs.


Macau

GEOGRAPHY

Location, Size, Border, and Coastline: Macau is located in the southern part of China's Guangdong Province, on the tip of the peninsula formed by the Zhujiang (Pearl River) estuary on the east and the Xijiang (West River) on the west. Macau is situated sixty kilometers west of Hong Kong and 145 kilometers southwest of Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong Province. It is immediately adjacent to the Zhuhai Special Economic Zone. The region comprises the Macau Peninsula and the islands of Taipa and Coloane. Macau was once an island but gradually a connecting sandbar turned into a narrow isthmus. Land reclamation in the seventeenth century made Macau into a peninsula, and a barrier gate was built to mark the separation between the peninsula and the mainland. Pre-colonial records show that Macau totaled only 2.78 square kilometers but began to increase as a result of Portuguese settlement. Land growth has accelerated since the last quarter of the twentieth century, from 15 square kilometers in 1972 to 16.1 square kilometers in 1983 to 21.3 square kilometers in 1994. Macau's size has gradually increased as result of continued land reclamation, especially on Taipa and Coloane. In 2000, the total land area was approximately 23.6 square kilometers. There is a 0.34-kilometer-long border between Macau and mainland China and a forty-kilometer-long coastline.

Topography: Macau has generally flat terrain resulting from extensive land reclamation, but numerous steep hills mark the original natural land mass. The modern high-rise skyline of Macau obscures much of the hilly landscape. Macau's highest point is at Coloane Alto (174 meters above sea level).

Climate: The climate is subtropical and is hot and humid, with an average year-round temperature of 25°C and temperatures exceeding 30°C from June to September. Temperatures rarely fall below 14°C (the average for January and February). There is about 2,030 millimeters of rainfall annually. Macau is exposed to tropical storms originating from the southern Pacific Ocean during the summer. Major destruction occurred in September 1874, when a devastating typhoon hit Macau and high seas swept across the low-lying area of the peninsula.

Natural Resources: Negligible. In the past, large amounts of granite were extracted from Macau's hills for use as building material.

Land Use: No arable land, pastures, forest, or woodland. Because of this deficiency, Macau's people traditionally have looked to the sea for their livelihood.

Environmental Factors: Dense urban environment.

Data as of August 7, 2000



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