The Hong Kong Civil Engineering and Development Department announced that an ancient “Supervolcano,” known as High Island Super Volcano, has been discovered in southeastern Hong Kong, Xinhua reported on August 30.

The High Island Supervolcano photographed on August 30.[Photo/Xinhua]

It is the first time that such a volcano has been found in Southeast China. The last eruption of the Supervolcano occurred around 140 million years ago.

The caldera of the High Island Supervolcano spans 18 kilometers in diameter, which extends from High Island to the Ninepin Islands, covering most of eastern Sai Kun. The last eruption was around 140 million years ago, and released more than 1.3 trillion cubic meters of ash.

The department’s geotechnical engineer Denise Tang said the discovery was highly significant. Denise confirmed that the large areas of granite in northern Hong Kong and Kowloon Peninsula belong to the same volcanic system. She also said there are 50 supervolcanos throughout the world, but the whole volcanic rocks and magma source could hardly be discovered at the same time, so the High Island Super Volcano is indeed a rare ‘gem.’

Spectacular large hexagonal rock columns have been attracting an enormous number of visitors recently.

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