Case study East Asia
Hong Kong slopes
Hong Kong Island and the New Territories
Intense rainfall can destabilise Hong Kong’s steep slopes, including those underlain by deeply weathered rock. The role of groundwater differs from wave erosion at the foot of a Holderness cliff.
Preparing map style and visible tiles…
Location: 22.28°, 114.16°
Weathering can turn granite and other rocks into thick, weak material called saprolite. Rain infiltrating a slope can raise pore-water pressure and reduce the effective forces holding particles together. Slope angle, drainage, vegetation and engineering all affect stability.
Compare this setting with coastal slumping at Holderness. Both involve gravity-driven movement, but their materials and triggers differ. Use the mass-movement model to isolate changes in water and slope angle before discussing the details of a particular failure.
Exam-style question
Contrast a Hong Kong hillslope failure with Holderness cliff retreat, using rock type and the triggering process.
Teacher hint: Compare weathered rock and rainfall-driven pore pressure in Hong Kong with glacial till and wave erosion at Holderness.
Process labs
Sources
- GEO Hong Kong — landslide studies
- BGS — Holderness till