SOME GEOLOGICAL FEATURES OF THE HUANGYAN ISLAND, SOUTH CHINA SEA

Huangyan Island (Minzhujiao Reef), situated east by south of Zhongsha Islands (15°09’N, 117°45’ E) and about 890 km from the Zhujiang River mouth, is a component partof the China’s islands in the South China Sea. The Island towers solitarily in the easternpart of the South China Sea Basin, 3,500 m higher than the bottom suface of the Basin.Huangyan Island is a large atoll, somewhat like an isosceles triangle in shape (Fig. 1),15 km long in E-W direction, 15 km wide in S-N, about 55 km in peripheral length, andwith an area of approximately 150 km~2 (including lagoons). Except hundreds of reef blocks(ranging from 1 to 4m~2) surrounding the lagoon like a belt on a top this atoll (Fig. 2),the entire island is 0.5-3 m underwater.