The ha long bay world heritage outstanding geological values journal of geology, series b

N o .2 2

S e rie s B yxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVU
2003

DEPARTMENT

& MINERALS
OF VI~T NAM
OF GEOLOGY cbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA

H A NQI


T~p ZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
c h i B fA C H A T
Cl)C DfA CHAT cbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
& KHOANG SAN
Loat B,
VI~TNAM

sa TSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
2 2 /2 0 0 3

MUCLUC
•

e,

Trang
1. Tdn

Van Trj, Tdn

Du'c Th~nh, Tony Waltham,

Le Duc An, L~i Huy Anh.

Di san th€ gioi vinh H(;1Long: Nhfrng gia tri n6i bat v~ dia ch~t

1

2. Nguy~n Hfru Hung. Tr~m tich Devon thuong, S\I tuyet chung hang 10(;1tcua hoa
thach Ian va ranh gioi Frasni/ FamenutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
(y B~c Viet Nam
19
3.

DB

Bat, Nguy~n QuBc An, Nguy~n Quy Hung, Ngo Xuan Vinh, Nguy~n Th~
Hung, DB Vi~t Hi~u, Nguyen Trung Hi~u. Dia tang tram tich D~ tam them luc
dia Tay am Vi~t Nam
31

4. Tdn

Ngnc

SHRIMP
sinh

am, Y. Sano, S. L. Chung. Chung cir moi 2840 trieu nam tir
U-Pb zircon cho tu6i Archei cua plurc h~ Ca Vinh va y nghia nhiet ki€n

5. Nguy~n Kim Lap,

41

DB

Chi~n Th~ng, Bui Vi~t Dung. Dac diem dirt

T:ai ~~t tren I~nh ~h6 .yi~t,Na~
bao,( gom quan dao Truong
xac dinh co che chan tieu cua dong dat

g a y (y

Sa dira tren k€t qua
49

6. Ngo Th] Lu. Cac tran dong d~t manh va dac di~m hoat dong ki€n t(;10(y khu
Dong Nam A
7. Tr~n Trong Hu~, Ki~u Quy Nam. Khoang hoa sericit

(y

Viet Nam va

kinh t€ cua cluing

8. Phan Th] Kim Van.

vo

y

V\IC

54

nghia
61

Xu Iy

cac s6 lieu tir phuc vu tham do d~u khi

70


Journal of GEOLOGY
EDITORIAL OFFICE
2 2 / 2 0 0 3 utsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
Series B, NoTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
6, Pham Ngu Lao, Hi! NQi
(F ourty th ird year)
6, Nguyen Hong, B6ng Ba, Hi! NQi
Tel: (048) 261 779,352319,355468
Fax 84. 4. 8 254 734

Email:

EDITORIAL

BOARD

Editor-in-chief: NGUYEN THANH V AN
Deputy Editor-in-chief: TRINH DANH, TRINH XUAN BEN
Secretary: BUI ouc THANG

Members: DUONG cue KIEM, BAa BiNH THVC, D1NH THANH, NGUYEN ouc BAI,
NGUYEN KHAc VINH, NGUYEN HU'U TY, NGUYEN TIEN BAa, NGUYEN XUAN BAa,
vO, PHAN TRUONG TH!, TONG DUY THANH, TRAN MINH,
PHAM NANG
TRAN MINH THE, TRAN TAT THANG, TRAN V AN TR!, vO KHUC.

CONTENTS
Page

1. TrAn Van Trj, TrAn Due Th~;mh, Tony Waltham, Le Duc An, L~i Huy Anh. The
Ha Long Bay World Heritage: Outstanding geological values

1

2. Nguy~n Hiru Hung. Upper Devonian sediments, mass extinction of macrofossils
and Frasnian/Famennian boundary in North Viet Nam
19
3.

DB

Bat, Nguyen Quac An, Nguyen Quy Hung, Ngo Xuan Vinh, Nguy~n Th~
Hung, DB Vi~t Hi~u, Nguy~n Trung Hi~u. Stratigraphy of Tertiary sediments in
the Southwest Viet Nam continental shelf..
31

4. TrAn Ngoc Nam, Y. Sano, S. L. Chung. New evidences of 2840 Ma from SHRIMP
U-Pb zircon dating for Archean age of the Ca Vinh Complex and tectonothermal
implication
41
5. Nguyen Kim Lap, DB Chi~n Th~ng, Bui Vi~t Dung. Characteristics of the faults in
the Earth's crust of the territory of Viet Nam including the Tnrong Sa Archipelago
based on the results of determination of focal mechanism of earthquakes
49
L u , Strong earthquakes and features of tectonic activities in Southeast Asia
6. Ngo ThjcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
region
54

7. Tr§n Trong Hue, Ki~u Quy Nam. Sericite mineralization
economic significance
8. Phan Thi Kim Van. Magnetic
exploration

data processing

in Viet Nam and its
61

for the purpose of hydrocarbon

70


Journal of GEOLOGY Series B. N".2212003
p.I-18ZYXWVUTSRQ

THE ~

L O N G B A Y W O R L D H E R IT A G E :

O U T S T A N D IN G

G E O L O G IC A L

VALUES

TRAN V AN TRI1• TRAN cbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
o u c THANH2, TONY WAL THAM 3,
LE ouc AN4, LAI HUY ANH4utsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPON

'National Committeefor ICCP of Viet Nam
'Instuuie of Oceanography, 246 Da N{mg, Hili Phong
'Nouingham Trent University, NGI, 4BU, United Kingdom
"Institute of Geography, 18 Hoang Quoc Vi?t, cdu Gidy,TSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCB
H a N6i

A b s t r a c t : In 2000, the UNESCO's World Heritage Committee has inscribed the H a
Long Bay in the World Heritage List according to its outstanding examples
representing major stages of the Earth's history and its original limestone karstic
geomorphologic features. The H a Long Bay and its a d j a c e n t areas consist of a part of

the Sino- Vietnamese composite terrane having its development history from preCambrian up to present day. During Phanerozoic, terrigenous, volcanogenic and
cherty-carbonate sediments containing in abundance graptolites, brachiopods, fishes,
corals, foraminiferas, radiolarias, bivalves and flora, separated one from another by
10 stratigraphic gaps, but the boundary between Devonian and Carboniferous has
been considered as continuous. The limestone karstic geomorphology of the bay was
developed since Miocene, especially the cone-shaped hills ( f e n g c o n g ) , or isolated
high limestone karst towers (fenglin) with many remnants of old phreatic caves, old
karstic foot caves, marine notch caves form magnificent limestone karst landforms as
unique on the world The Quaternary geology was developed through 5 cycles with
the intercalation of marine and continental environments. The present H a Long Bay,
infact, appeared after the Middle Holocene maximum transgression, leaving ultimate
zone of lateral undercutting in the limestone cliffs bearing many shells of oysters,
having the J.JCage as 2280 to >40,000 y. BP. Geological resources are abundant:
anthracite, lignite, oil shale, petroleum, phosphate, limestone and cement additives,
kaolin, silica sand, dolomite, quartzite of exogenous origin, and antimony, mercury of
hydrothermal origin. Besides, there still are surface water, groundwater and thermal
mineral water on the shore of the H a Long - Bai T u ' Long Bays and other
environmental resources.ZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA

IN T R O D U C T IO N

The Ha Long Bay is situated in
Northeast Viet Nam, belonging to the
Quang Ninh Province, adjoining to Hai
Phong City, with an area of 1553 krrr',
including 1969 islets. It has been incrisbed
as sights of national category by the
Ministry of Culture and Information in
1962, and as World. Heritage in 1994
according to the 3rd criterion of the World

Heritage Convention by having outstanding

natural landscape of high aesthetic value.
This bay is limited by the f)~u G6 Islet in
the west, the Ba Hb Lake in the south and
the Cong T a y in the east, with the central
part of 434 km2 in area including 775
named islets. The surrounding buffer zone
lying' along the bay side, following the
Highway 18A toward Quang Hanh (Cam
PhaTown), has a width of 5-7 km with the
sea or mainland as vicinity including the sea
part adjoining the Cat Ba National Park.

1


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Figure 1, Geological map of the Ha Long Bay and adjacent areas

(based on materials ofNguyln C6ng LU(Jnget al. /999; Ng6 Quang Toan et al/998 with some revision and supplements)ZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGF
S c a le 1 : 5 0 0 0 0 0

[R J

m

--~

I m m 1 W lT l

Quaternary: pebble, granule, sand, clay.
Oligocene-Neogene: conglomerate, gritstone, silty claystone, oil shale, containing Pecoptens lolangcn.l'Is,
thickness: 170-400 m.
Qllerc", cf lobbn. Ctcatricosisporites domgensis, Viviparus cf margaryoefonnis;
Lower-Middle Jurassic: conglomerate, sandstone, carbonaceous shale containing Anomozomues
( 'omo~ens sp, Tutuella sp., Euesthena sp.; thickness: 1000-1800 m.

sp.,

Upper Triassic: conglomerate, gritstone, sandstone, coal seams, silty claystone, containing ('Iathro~enl'
memsaoutes,

Taentoxeris

nib,soniOlde.\', Glossopums indica, Gervillia cf irflata, l Imomtes damdunenst ••;

--

Upper Permian: cherty shale, clay shale, limestone, containing Nankmel/a
gratiosus; thickness: 250-300 m.

1>11/11/1/,
Tikhmella

Lower-Middle Devonian: chocolate-coloured sandstone, calcareous silty clay shale, containing'
sp, 1£"idelldropsl.\· sp., Vietnamaspis trii, i:'1Iry..pinjer cf 1000kll1e""",, Synngopora elji!benm;
thickness: 1000-1400 rn,
('ookwmia

IT]

Upper Silurian' calcareous sandstone, marly shale, limestone, containing Retztella weben, Mesotavosites
sp., Nipponophyl/llm sp.; thickness: >600 m.

~

Upper Ordovician - Silurian: tuffaceous sandstone, rhythmically interbedded with siltstone and clay
shale. containing Dcmirastrites triongulans, Prisuograptus minor, M(lIlogro~", sp.; thickness: > 1800 m.

thickness 2200.J400 m.
Middle Triassic: tuffaceous sandstone, porphyritic rhyolite, siltstone, clay shale, containing Neoschizodus
cf 01'01"" Costaona cf gok#i""" Monophyl/iles sp.; thickness: 1500-1700m.

Middle-Upper Devonian: limestone, calcaro-chertyshale, containing Slrmgocephal",
sp., Palmatolepis trumgulans; thickness: >750 m.

sp, Meeketlo cf ~feftl'l."

OTHER SYMBOLS

Product",

Lower Carboniferous - Permian: cherty limestone, oolitic limestone, containing Millerella
sp., T r iu c it e s ei.toosens», Verheekma v e r b e e k i; thickness: 1000-1100 m.

.-"30

eleganlula,

l- u s t d in e lla

~pper ~onian

- ,~,,:er C~rbo~ferous: calcaro-cherty shale,.marly shale. containing Q I I ( J . I · le n d o lh y r a

a ( jj

b~
J

Strike and dip
Fossils: a) mUM; b) flora

./"

.;.

Fault
Interesting sites on geology


According to the suggestion of Dr Hans
Friederich, Chief of the Bureau representing
the International Union of Conservation of
the Nature (Il.K'N) at Hit N9i and the
Managerial Commission of the Ha Long
Bay, Prof.Dr Tony Waltham of the Trent
Nottingham University, UK has been
carrying the study on the geology and the
limestone karst of the Ha Long Bay (1998).
The Ministry of Culture and Information and
the National Committee for UNESCO of
Viet Nam have sent the record to the World
Heritage Committee (WHC) at Paris in
12/1999. ruCN and WHC have sent Prof.
Eleri Hamilton Smith to the Ha Long Bay
for establishing the verifying report on the
authenticity of the above record (3/2000) and
the 24th plenary session of the WHC at

Cairns City of Queensland State, Australia
has recognized the outstanding global value
on geological history and limestone karstic
geomorphology of the Ha Long Bay
according to the 151 criterion of the World
Heritage Convention and adopted the
proposal to inscribe the Ha Long Bay to the
World Heritage List with the absolute votes
(2/12/2000).
Recently, the Prime Minister of Viet Nam
has issued the Decision No.l42/2002-TTg on
the approval of planning to the year 2020 of
preserving and displaying the value of the Ha
Long Bay Heritage; in this decision the area
of direct study has been determined as 1553
km', in which the Ha Long Bay forms the
centre and the area of indirect study including
even the Cat Bit Island and the northern part
of the Road No.l8A surrounds it.

composite terrane, which had passed through
the processes of evolution, drifting, collision
and change during pre-Cambrian - Phanerozoic.
The majority of the pre-Cambrian and
Lower Paleozoic basement is covered
and is exposed only in some places
around the B~c B9 Gulf, but the
Ordovician
to recent formations
are

exposed rather fully on this area.
Along the Co To Archipelago and T~
Mai uplifted zones Ordovician-Silurian
terrigeno-volcanic flyschoid formations of
the marginal volcanic arc setting are strongly
folded,
forming
the
Quang
Ninh
Geoanticline which was amalgamated into
the Sino-Vietnamese Terrane during the
process of collision and Caledonian orogeny.
Devonian - Upper Paleozoic terrigenouscarbonate sediments lying unconformably
upon them, exposed in the northwest of B~c
ae Gulf and Hill Phong, Hill Duong, are
asymmetrically folded and plunge under the
Hl;lLong Bay and Quang Ninh Coast with a
sloping attitude.
Superimposing the above structures, there
is the An Chau Intracontinental Rift in the
northwest and the Hon Gai, Bao Dill
Mesozoic coal-bearing continental grabens
which are the products of the Indosinian
tecto genetic process, that became more
complicated by the impact of the Jurassic Late Cretaceous active continental margin.
In the top there are Cenozoic structures, such
as the Red River Pull-apart Basin, the Hoanh
B6 and B~c B9 Gulf grabens which are
petroleum- and coal-bearing basins, that

were influenced by the sinistral strike-slip
movement of the Red River Fault system
and the formation of the East Vi~t Nam Sea.

On the basis of existing materials the
authors present briefly the outstanding
values on geology of the Ha Long Bay and
. The above geological settings create
adjacent areas and hope that by further
worldwide outstanding
values on the
studies other geological values will be
historical
geology,
limestone
karstic
certainly discovered.ZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
geomorphology,
marine
Quaternary
G E O L O G IC A L S E T T IN G S
geology
and
the
diversification
of
geological resources of the Ha Long Bay
The Ha Long Bay and adjacent areas
and adjacent areas.
consist of a part of the Sino-Vietnamese

3


VALUES

OF

H IS T O R IC A L

AND

China; it is of shallow-sea environment in

STRUCTURAL GEOLOGYyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
Ha Tuyen - Thanh H6a and becomes deeper
The development history of the Earth's
crust in the Ha Long Bay is closely related to
the regions situated around the B~c B9 Gulf
and Southeast China.
During the pre-Cambrian (3000-750 Ma),
the basement of granulite and amphibolite
facies exposed in some areas of the Red
River Basin, Hainan Island and Kwangtung
passed through Late Archean tectonothermal
. stages of isotopic age as 2930-2840 Ma,
Proterozoic ones - 2360-1960 Ma and 1790970 Ma [35], collision and Grenvillian
orogeny amalgamating
the Cathaysia,
Yangtse-Phansipan and Indosinian cratons

with one another that were the components
of the Rodinian supercontinent existing
about 1000 Ma ago [11]. Then, the process
of rifting took place for developing
sedimentary basins, volcanic island arcs and
forming the Gondwana Continent in about
550 Ma ago, and through many events a
part was separated and accreted to the Asia
Plate [11], including the B~c B9 Gulf and
adjacent areas.
N e o p ro te ro zo ic

- M id d le P a le o zo ic p e rio d

(7 5 0 -3 5 0
M a ).
The similarity between
biological provinces, paleomagnetism of
Cambrian-Carboniferous
geological
formations in the Sino-Vietnamese and
Indochinese, etc. composite terranes situated in
the southern hernisprere together with
Australia have been proving their Gondwanan
origin. The sediments containing many kinds
of paleontological remains and Phanerozoic
magmatic formations having space and time
relations forming the islands in the Ha Long
Bay and adjacent areas are rock historic pages
recording the imprints of geological evolution

in the interval from 550 Ma to present days.

The Cambrian - Early Ordovician
sedimentary basin (550-465 Ma) contains
many trilobites, brachiopods, etc. is largely
distributed in North Viet Nam and South

4

and deeper in East Bac B9, Hainan Island,
etc .. After a gap the Co To and T§n Mill
forearc basins was formed including
tuffaceous flyschoid formations, rich in calkalkaline volcanoclastic materials olistostrom
and turbidite with a thickness of over 1800
m, that were linearily strongly folded in NESW trend, containing the graptolitesutsrqponmlk
Demirastrites
triangulatus,
Spirograptus
cf regularis,
turriculatus, Pristiograptus
Monograptus
ex gr. pandus,
etc. of
Llandoverian and Wenlockian age, EarlyMiddle Silurian (435-425 Ma), but their
lower part is possibly of Late Ordovician age
[20, 36]; these formations extend to the
Yunkai island arc margin, K wangtung,
China. The sea gradually regressed to the
present south for forming shallow .shelf
sediments: silty sandstone, clayey limestone

attributed to the Ki~n An Formation (S34TSRQPONMLK
ka)
with a thickness of >600 rn dipping
northeastwards. These sediments contain
bottom fauna, such as brachiopods: Retziella
weberi, Nikiforovaena vietnamensis, Howellella
bragensis, etc., corals: Mesofavosites sp.,
Xiphelasma sp., Nipponophyllum sp., etc.,
bivalves: Schizodus kienanensis, Modiomorpha
paracrypta,
etc. of Late Ludlowian to
Pridolian, Late Silurian (about 420-413 Ma),
similar to the lower basin of the Da River, or
Quang Binh of the Indochina Plate, which is
near to the South China, Central Asia and
East Australia plates [31].

The Early-Middle Paleozoic tectonic
movement led to orogenic manifestations
and magmatism from Middle Cambrian to
Middle-Late Ordovician, especially to the
process
of
collision
and
folding
accompanied by granitoid intrusion at the
end of Silurian (410cbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFE
± 20 Ma) forming the
Sino-Vietnamese composite terrane, having

the continental part enlarging southwards
from Silurian to Devonian.


The Devonian - Early Carboniferous
(410-340 Ma) sedimentary basin with the
A
transgressive section from the continental,
subcontinental molassic formation grading
upward into terrigenous-carbonate-cherty
sediments
on
the
sea
shelf
lying
unconformably upon the Co To Formation
(03-S utsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
ct) exposed on the Trk Islet, and the
Ki€n An Formation (S34 ka). This formation
forms
a
synclinal
limb
plunging
northwestwards under the Ha Long Bay and
the Quang Ninh Coast, and in its northeast
direction it plunges towards Hill Phong Thuy Nguyen. Its lower part has been
grouped into the Song C~u Group with the
Mia Le, Duong D<)ng and D6 San

formations, 1000-1400 m thick, dated as
...
Early-Middle Devonian on the basis of flora
~
'."" .
fossils
Lepidodendropsis,
Cooksonia,
Eurypterid arthropods Rhinocarcinosoma,
fishes
Zhanjilepis,
Vietnamaspis
trii,
82
etc. (Fig. 2),
Bothriolepis,
Asterolepis,
brachiopods Lingula aff. yunnanensis,
bivalves, etc. [8, 12]; then come silty
sandstone, clay shale, marl containing the
brachiopods Euryspirifer cf. tonkinensis,
Desquamatia desquamata, Acrospirifer sp.
in the Ngoc Virng Islet, the corals
Figure 2. Fish fossil Asterolepis
eifeliensis,
Amphipora
Syringopora
from the Tra Ban Island (A, B),
vatustior, etc .. The middle part consists of
and reconstruction (C) [8].

limestone with some cherty shale subdivided
in Ki€n An and some islets in the northeast
into the Trang Kenh and Ban Pap
margin of the Ha Long and Bai Tir Long
formations, 650 m thick, containing the
Bays. Especially, the finding of the gradualTSRQPONML
corals Caliapora battersbyi, Amphipora
D I C boundary including the conodont zone
ramosa in the Tra Ban Islet, the brachiopod
Palmatolepis gracilis, and the foraminifera
Stringocephalus burtini, etc. of Givetian age,
zone Quasiendothyra konensis of Late
the foraminiferas Tikhinella, Eotournayella,
Famennian grading upward into the beds
the corals Amphipora rudis, Stachyodes
containing
Siphonodella
sulcata,
S.
costulata of Frasnian age and the conodonts
duplicata, Parathurammina suleimanovi and
Palmatolepis triangularis, Pa. perlobata,
coral Syringopora distans, etc. of Early
Pa. subricata, Nothognathella abnormis,
Toumaisian
in the Cat Co 3 Beach in the
Apatognathus sp. of Early Famennian age
south of the Cat Ba Island [3, 48] is a rare
[3,7, 48]. The upper part includes turbiditeevidence,
having outstanding scientific value

like rhythmic limestone and cherty shale,
in the region and the world. Just in this
subdivided into the Ph6 Han Formation
exposure,
the D I C
boundary has the
(D3fin-CI ph) containing foraminiferas in the
magnetic inductivity suddenly increasing in
Cat Ba Island, the Nui Voi Formation (C I nv)cbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA

,
.".

.

f

5


between the Shan-Thai, Indochina and Sinovalue (from 7 x 10-9 to 6 x 10-8) parallelly
Vietnamese plates, as well as the spreading
with the clear change of the tendency of
and intracratonal collision stirring up the
displacement
cycle of the magnetic
paroxysmal event in Early-Middle Triassic
induction, similar with the boundary of the
(245 ± 10 Ma) influencing the whole area of
same age in Spain, that shows the worldwide

this region. The East B~c Be>Basin (250-65
correlation of the process of sedimentary
Ma) was gradually restricted forming the An
deposition [23].ZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
Chau intracontinental rift in the west margin
L a te P a le o zo ic - M e s o zo ic p e rio d (3 5 0 -6 5
of Quang Ninh filled up with porphyritic
M a ). After the stage of collision
and
rhyolite and marine sediments containing
amalgamation between the two Indochina
ammonoids, bivalves attributed to the Binh
and Sino-Vietnamese plates, the Late
Lieu (T 2a bI) and Na Khuat (T 2 nk)
Paleozoic
basin
(35.0-250 Ma) was
formations, grading upward into continental
developed on the relatively stable shelf for
red beds of the M~u Son (T3C ms) and Ban
forming carbonate-magnesian
sediments
Hang (K bh) formations. At the end of Late
largely distributed in Indochina and South
Triassic the sea regressed toward the Ha B~c
China, at the same time existed some deep- Thai Nguyen side forming the paralic coal
sea depressions which are the branches of
seams in the Van Lang Formation (Tjn-r vI)
Paleo-Tethys extending to Northeast Viet
transiting in the Quang Ninh coal basin into

Nam. These sediments comprise dolomitic
the lagoonal, continental facies of the Hon
limestone interbedded with oolitic limestone
Gai (T3n-r hg) and Ha C6i (JI - 2 hc)
and calcaro-cherty shale attributed to the B~c
Formations [4,38].
Son Formation (C-P utsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
bs), about 1000 m
thick, exposed in many islands, islets and on
The Hon Gai Graben lying between the
the coast of the Ha Long Bay, monoclinally
Trung Luong Fault Zone in the north and the
or undulatedly folded (Photo 5) [7, 17, 25],
Road No.18A Fault Zone in the south, on the
containing foraminifera beds, from the
"Hc;tLong - Cfun Pha seaside includes
Chernyshinella, Dainella, etc. to Cancellina,
subcontinental sediments containing many
Neoschwagerina,
Verbeekina Beds [7, 17,
coal seams, 2200-3800 m thick [28, 38]. It is
25] together with remains of crinoids, corals,
to note that the Hon Gai Flora is wellknown
brachiopods, bivalves, bryozoans, etc .. At
on the world by its abundance and diversity
the same time, in Bai Chay, Hoanh B6 there
with the groups of ferns, gymnosperms, etc.
are turbidite-like cherty shale members
including 195 species, among them 62
containing radiolarians Albailella paradoxa,

species are endemic, 50 are still not fully
A. undulata, Follicucullus bipartitus, etc. of
studied yet. This flora has been subdivided
from Carboniferous
to Permian
age
into Taeniopteris nilssonioides
Beds, T
determined by Wu Haoruo, that can be
spathulata
Beds, Pecopteris tonquinensis
remains from a branch of Paleo-Tethys
Beds with some beds containing in
extending to Kwangtung, China [47]. Along
abundance Bernoullia zeilleri, Otozamites
the Ha Long and Cam Pha coast there still
obtusus, Anomozamites
gracilis
together
are terrigenous-cherty sediments of the Bai
with fresh-water, brackish-water faunas
Chay Formation (P2 bc) containing the
Estheria, Sibireconcha, and littoral bivalves
brachiopods Productus gratiosus,TSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
S p ir ife r in a
Gervillia cf. inflata, Thracia sp. allowing to
cf cambodgiensis, etc. and the foraminiferas
date the formation as Norian-Rhaetian [16,
Glomospira,
Nankinella,

etc. of Late
40,46].
Permian age [4,25]. In the Late Paleozoic,The orogenic process continued to form
Early Mesozoic stage, Hercynian-Indosinian
the red continental molassic coarse clastic
tectonic activities created the collisioncbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
.6


Especially, these sediments exposed in
sediments of the Ha C6i Formation
Hoanh B6 and Bach Long VI Island still
containing the plant remains ofutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
Coniopteris
have manifestations of oil shale and
sp., Anomozamites sp., fresh-water bivalves
Tutuella cf kui, T cf. nuculiformis of Earlyasphaltite,
containing
in
abundance
sporomorphs Cicatricosisporites dorogensis,
Middle Jurassic age [18, 40] and the Ban
Hang Formation containing the fresh-water
Verrutricolporites
pachyderm us,
bivalve Cyotrigonioides sp. (aff. C. longa) of
Pentapollenites
maomingensis
etc. of
Early Cretaceous age, unconformably resting

Oligocene age [27], remains of subtropicalQ . cf.
humid vegetation Quercus cf. lobbii,cbaZYXWVUTSRQPO
upon older formations.
neriifolia,
Pecopteris
totangensis,
Acer
From Late Jurassic to the end of
trilobatum,
Phragmites
oeningensis,
etc.,
the
Cretaceous,
the
calk-alkaline
hybrid
gastropod Viviparus cf. margaryaeformis,
volcano-plutonic arc of the active continental
etc. of Mio-Pliocene age [37, 39]. Besides,
margin was formed on the subduction zone
there
still
are
Quaternary
basalt
in the eastern margin of the Eurasia Plate, in
manifestations in some places, and since mid
which the East B~c BQ region passed
Holocene the system of island in the B~c BQ

through also the process of strong activation.
Gulf was formed.
At the same time, the Sundaland continent
spreaded out in SE Asia, including the B~c
On the structure side, one can distinguish
BQ Gulf and the major part of the East Viet
the Van D6n Monoclinal Uplift, the Ha
Nam Sea, in many places of which there
Long Synclinal Subsidence, the Cat Ba
were intermontane depressions, rivers, lakes
Anticlinal Uplift separated from one
and relict sea allowing to form evaporiteanother by the NW -SE and NE-SW fault
bearing formation in the arid and hot climate
systems [14, 24]; they adjoin the Hon Gai
conditions.ZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBAGraben and the Hoanh B6 Depression
through the sublatitudinal fault system,
C e n o zo ic
p e rio d
(6 5 -0
M a ). Fluviowhere, locally, there still are manifestations
lacustrine and deltaic sediments interbedded
of current activity [15].
with shallow-sea beds were formed in the

Red River pull-apart type rift with the
thickness of about 4-15 km along the NWSE sinistral strike-slip fault system and on
the B~c BQ Gulf with the thickness of about
3-6 km extending on the NW-SE direction
[30, 34]. According to seismic and drilling
in petroleum exploration materials, these

sediments were formed in the pre-rift stage:
end of Cretaceous - Paleocene, synrift
stage: Eocene - Late Oligocene, post-rift
stage: end of Oligocene - Miocene, related
to the spreading process of the East Sea
floor (32 - 15.5 Ma), and inverse stage:
Middle-Late Miocene with folding, erosion
activities, and at last the continental shelf
was formed with Pliocene-Quaternary
sediments (5.5 - 0 Ma) unconformably
resting upon a large and almost not
deformed region [26,29,30].

VALUES
ON
GEOM ORPHOLOGY

L IM E S T O N E

K A R S T IC

The Ha Long Bay situated in the
northwest margin of the B~c BQ Gulf,
adjoining the Quang Ninh - Hai Phong Coast
with coastal hilly
and mountainous
topography, is composed of many limestone
relict mountains - islands lying above or
under the sea level forming karstic and cave
geomorphologic type having a worldwide

reputation (Fig. 3, Photo 1).
The geomorphology of the Ha Long Bay
is an excellent example on the mature karst
thanks a rather homogenous limestone
formation of about 100 m in thickness,
existing in the hot, humid and rainy climate
conditions, and on a general slow
neotectonic uplift background, under the
reciprocal impact between sea, earth and

7


sky. The karstic evolution process in this
islets, but only 25.70% of the total island
bay, happening from Miocene (about 20 Ma
surface. There are only 7 islands having the
ago) to present days, has passed through 5
surface of over 1 krrr', among them the
stages: 1) formation of the ancient plain; 2)
largest is the Hang Trai of 4.613 km'. In the
formation of karstic dolines and valleys; 3)
Ha Long Bay area 1 ha of island surface
formation of groups of conjunctive conic
corresponds to 9 ha of sea surface.
hills (fengcong, in Chinese) (photos 2cbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
& 3);
The west island band comprises 7
4) development of separated high towers
island groups (Table 1); according to the

with steep cliffs (fenglin, in Chinese)
quantity, shape, size and combination of
(Photos 5 & 6); 5) formation of new plain
the islands, one can use the two following
[32,41-43], based on that the new term "Ha
indices: K and I.
Long type" has been proposed for
characterizing the tropical limestone karst
submerged by the sea.
The direct
studied area has a surface of 1553 km2 and
P o s itiv e

to p o g ra p h ic

K = quantity of separated conic islets and
towers divided to the island amount;
Kmax

=

1, when all the islands and isletsZYXWVU

fo rm s .

are of separated conic and tower shape;

1969 islands and islets with the density of
I = conic tower index; I = h/R,
1.27 island/krrr', including super-smallutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA

with h = height of relict mountain (0.0001 - 0.01 km'') and very small (0.01 island; R = radius of the island base, with
0.1 krrr') relict hills-islets occupying up to
the agreement that this base is converted to
91.5% of the total amount of islands and
a circle.
Table 1. Q u a n tity o f is la n d s a n d is le ts s u b d iv id e d in to th e c o n ic a n d to w e r s h a p e s ,
a n d th e K in d e x

No

1

Name of the islet
groups

D~uGo

Quantity' of conic, tower-like
and dome islets
Separated
3

Quantity of islets Total sum
in the remnant
of islands
mountain range
and islets
form

Integration

of2

Integration

2

2

1

8

00

K

0,37

2 Chari Voi - Van B9i

20

9

3

3

35

0,57

3

D~Nam

6

2

1

1

10

0,60

4

LOmBa

15

3

1

2

21

0,71

5

BOHon

33

6

3

2

44

0,75

6

HangTr~i
D~uBe

36

5

3

1

45

0,80

27

6

3

1

37

0,73

140

33

16

11

200

K"O,70

7

The K mdex vanes from 0.37 m the Dau
G6 Group to 0.80 in the Hang Trai Group,
and in average K = 0.70,i.e. every 10 islets
there are 7 of separated conic, tower-like and
dome. shapes, that increases towards the
offshore. The feature of the morphology
index of the islet group has been showing
that the B6 Han, Hang Tr~ and f)~u Be islet
groups situated far from the seaside have
more numerous separated conic, tower-like

8 .

Islets and more characteristic WIth the Imax .
= 2.40 and Imin = 0.12.
On the height of the topographic steps the
92 islets in the f)~u 06 and f)~u Be bands
can be divided into 3 groups: 1) 140-220 m
(140-160; 170-190; and 200-220 m) with the
highest summits, possibly, corresponding to
the Pliocene planation surface; 2) 50-130 m
(50-60; 70-90; and 100-130 m) being the
most widespread height occupying 59% of


P hoto 1. yxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
Landscape of the H~ Long Bay: Carboniferous-Permian

P h o t o : H i i u C~
limestone karst.TSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA

P hoto 3. Tower-like limestone hill: the Canh Bu6m Islet, having the fenglin

P hoto 2. Conic (C-P) limestone hill group in the 396 and B6 Hen islets integrated

in the fengcong karstic type; seen from the B6 Nau Cave. Photo:

H iiu

P hoto 4. Ga Choi Islet: notch of sea level in the (C-P) limestone cliff
karstic type and integrated conic hill groups.utsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
Photo: Nguyin Thinh
Photo: H i i u Vinh.

Vinh


cavities at the foot (from the book ThecbaZYXWVUTSR
H < ;i Long
Ecological Museum, UNESCO Committee, Management Commission of the Ha Long Bay, 200 I).

P h o t o 5 . yxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
S6ng Da (C-P) Limestone Islet with the undulated bedding and sea level


the total sum, reflecting the development
stage at the beginning of Quaternary; and 3)
10-14 m, .being the topographic step directly

influenced by the sea, possibly, in Late
Pleistocene - Holocene.
N e g a tiv e to p o g ra p h ic fo rm s . The karstic
dolines, pits and-closed valleys of isometric,
ellipsoid or semicircular shape of different
sizes with the base lying in the height of
about 5 m, are widespread in the H~ Long
Bay and the Cat Ba Island. Due to the cover
of the sea water, the major part of them are
transformed into lakes and lagoons. There
are about 62 closed karstic lakes lying in the
centre of islands, among them the largest is
Vem Lake (28.8 ha), and the smallest - Tr~
M6i Lake (0.7 ha); the lakes are usually 1-3
m deep [46].

The submerged karstic valleys and
ravines form small lagoons penetrating
deeply in limestone islands. According to the
statistics, in the H~ Long and Cat Ba areas
there are 57 such lagoons, among them the
largest is the Gciu Lagoon (220 ha) and the
smallest - May Den Lagoon (1.5 ha).
C a v e s . In the H~ Long Bay caves are
abundant and diverse. Up to present time, 24
caves have been registered, about some tens
to some hundreds metres, distributed in 3
levels: level 1 - 3-4 m high, related to the
present sea level; level 2 - 5-15 m high,
usually having greatest size; level 3 - 25-50

m high, such as Thien Cung and Me Cung
caves. In general, high caves have older
forming age, among them the major part of
caves of the level 2 and 3 were, possibly,
formed in Pleistocene. Caves in the H~ Long
Bay can be subdivided into 3 main groups
[32,41-43].

l. Old caves: the major part of old caves
are drainage way from old karstic dolines
having considerable difference in height.
The Sung S6t Cave (photo 7) on the B6 Hon
Island is a large cave of 10m in height. The
Tam Cung Cave comprises 3 chambers of
20 m different in height, developed in

accordance to the bedding of limestone. The
Lau Dill Cave on the C6 N gira Island
consists of a system of passages of 300 m in
length. The Thien Cung and D~u G6 caves
are remnants of a same old cave lying the
height of 20-50 m, among them the Thien
Cung Cave is a large chamber of over 100 m
in length separated by stalactite walls into
many smaller chambers, but the D~u G6
Cave is a large tunnel lowering along a
system of fissures.utsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONM
2. Group oj old karstic Joot caves:
generated when the erosion enlarges
horizontally at the foot level. These caves

have the nearly horizontal passage related to
abraded or accumulated marine terraces
lying equally to the foot level. Trinh NCr is
the largest foot cave in the H~ Long Bay
with the ceiling of 12 m in height, 80 m in
length and developed through many stages.
B6 Nau is a 70 m long horizontal cave with
many old stalactites and stalagmites.

3. Group oj marine notch caves: formed
by the dissolution process of sea water,
waves and tides according to the usual
chemical reaction: C02cbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFE
+ CaC0 3 + H 2 0 ~
Ca+ + + 2(HC03). They usually have the
horizontal ceiling formed in the present sea
level, as well as during sea transgression in
Holocene, even in Pleistocene. Some caves
in the Ba Ham Lake area includes an
association. of 3 caves connecting
3
lakes of saline water with one another
and communicating to the sea. The most
outside cave is 150 m long, 10m wide.
The L u c n Cave on the B6 Hon Island is
50 m long having the ceiling 2 m higher
than the high tide.ZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA

These hollow notches occur
in the limestone cliffs, caused by the

corrosion of sea water and the impact of
waves making the conic and tower-like islet
to be smaller at the foot, that increases the
original aspect of the karstic landscape of the
bay (Photos 4 & 5). The sea notches occur in
different heights, from 2-2.5; 3-5; 7-8 to 9S e a n o tc h e s .

11


fe n g c o n g

fe n g lin

cones

to w e r

cave
o ld

cave

b lo c k e d ·
o ld
;

p h r e a tic
w ith

caves

s e d im e n ts

< ,;

by

c la y

d ro w n e d
d o lin e

o ld

k a r s tic
m o d ifie d

fo o t
by

cave
sea
o ld

k a r s tic

fo o t

cave

yxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYX

Figure 3.utsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
Schematic a/the main types a/karst and cave features in TSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
H a Long Bay.
12 m, among them many notches still keep
VALUES ON QUATERNARY
GEOLOGY
AND MARINE GEOLOGY
the shell of oyster and sea-acorn which can
give the age of each notch, i.e. of the sea level
The Quaternary geology of the H~ Long
corresponding to this notch, by the 14Cisotopic
Bay is close related to the formation of the
age analysis. This will be given below.ZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
Biic BQ Gulf and the Red River Delta. In the
coastal zone of East Biic BQ and on some
S u b m e rg e d
k a rs tic v a lle y s a n d p la in s .
The submerged
karstic valleys form
islands there still are the remains of terraces
waterways, most of them are of NW -SE
at the height of 45-65; 20-30; 10-15; 4-6 and
trend, extending 5-10 km, with a depth of
1.5-3 m [5,19,21], and on the floor of the
10-20 m. The floor of the H~ Long Bay
Biic BQ Gulf there
are sediments

consists of a karstic plain lying in the depth
accumulated in the topographic steps of the
of 3-20 m, the surface of which is
zone of beach braking waves of 5 m in
complicated with many relict mounds,
depth, zone of destroying-deforming waves
furrows, ditches of clear stepping character:
- 5-0 m; zone of spreading waves - 20-30
1-4; 6-11 and 12-20 m, reflecting the
m; and accumulated plain of the old deltaic
abrasion-corrosion
stages
before . type - 80-110 m, developed in the Late
submersion; iri many places there are reefPleistocene stage [22].
forming corals. This karstic plain, formed
At the same time, in the Red River Plain
since Middle Holocene, has an island system
and on the Hill Phong - Quang Ninh Coastal
surrounding it therefore, is not subjected to
Zone the Early Pleistocene and Middle- Late
the impact of wave, and due to the high
Pleistocene sedimentary cycles belong
amplitude of tides (4 m in maximum) there
mainly to the fluvio-proluvial facies with
are both accumulation and erosion [22].
some Late Pleistocene, Late Pleistocene 12


Middle
Holocene

lagoonal
facies. The
maximum transgression and Late Holocene
stage is composed
of fluvio-lacustrine,
marshy, deltaic-littoral
and eolian facies
containing
remains
of
molluscs,
foraminiferas,
etc.. All these Quaternary
sedimentary cycles happened together with
the glacial cycles Gunz (1.6 Ma), Mindel
(700,000 y.), Riss (125,000 y.) and Wurm
(20,000 y.), and the Flandrian transgression
happening in about 5000 y. ago [13, 34]. In
general, the continent dominated
during
Pleistocene, but there have been having
some transgressions
determined
by the
finding of foraminiferas in boreholes drilled
at Hai Phong, Vinh Bao, etc., however, to
Holocene the marine environment dominated
[2]. The appearance of the Ha Long Bay can
be divided into 6 stages [10, 33].
1. Beginning

of Late Pleistocene
Holocene (11,000-7000 y.BP) transgression
to the marginal zone of the B~c Be> Gulf at
the depth of about 60 m moving gradually
towards the south of the· Ha Long Bay
(8000-7000 y.BP).
2. Holocene
maximum
transgression
(7000-4000 y.BP), giving the appearance of
the Ha Long Bay.

Related
to
the
formation
and
development
of the Ha Long Bay, the
cultural history of this coastal zone was
developed long ago. The Soi Nhu Culture
(25,000-7000 y.BP) has been found in the
caves on the islands of the Ha Long - Bai Tir
14
Long Bays ( C age: 14,125cbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIH
± 180 y.BP) that
are more developed than the Hoa Binh and
B~c Son cultures; the Cai Beo Culture
(7000-5000 y.BP) has been found in out of
14

the wind bay side ( C age: 5645 ± 60 y.BP);
the Ha Long Culture (4500-3500
y.BP)
found in Trang Kenh and the Bach Dang
14
River mouth areas ( C age: 3406 ± 100
y.BP) that has been subdivided into two
early and late stages [6, 33].

The Middle-Late Holocene lowering of
sea level in the Ha Long Bay has been
leaving hollow notches of waves in the
limestone
cliffs where
there
still are
remained the shells of oysters, sea-acorns,
sea-worms, gastropodutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPO
Meladani, etc. that
have been giving the following 14C age,
analyzed

at the notch of 3.5 m of the C~u

Ngir Islet: 2280 ± 60 and 3820 ± 50 y.BP; at
the notch of 4.25 m: 3280 ± 60 y.BP; at the
notch of 4.55 m: 4100 ± 50 y.BP; at the
notch of 4.85 m: 4990 ± 90 y.BP; and at the

3. Middle-Late

Holocene
regression
(4000-3000
y.BP),
leading
to
the
manifestation
of the relief rise and the
development of lateritic weathering.

notch of 4.90 m: 4050 ± 140 y.BP; near the
D~u Gieng Cut Islet, at the notch of 7.05 m:
> 40,000 y.BP,_ at the notch of 7.80 m:

4. Sea ingression
(3000-2000
y.BP),
leading to the partial enlargement of the Ha
Long Bay.

notch of 5.3-5.5 m: 4420 ± 70 y.BP; at the
notch of 9.1-10.1 m: > 40,000 y.BP [1 ].
These notches of waves change in height are
generated not only from the change of the
sea level, but also from the neotectonic
movement.ZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA

5. Restriction
of the Ha Long Bay

(2000-1000y.BP),
leading
to
the
development
of mangrove marshes under
the influence of alluvion of the Red and
Bach D~ng river systems.
6. Beginning of enlargement of the Ha
Long Bay (1000 y. ago) due to the rise of the
oceanic water level with the strong activity
oftidal flows.

32,960 ± 680 y.BP; in Quang Hanh, at the

V A L U E S O N G E O L O G IC A L

RESOURCES

Geological
resources
in the Ha Long
Bay and adjacent areas are abundant in
type and diversified
in origin with main
types, which have been explored
and
exploited [7, 18,38,45].

13

F u e l re s o u rc e s . yxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
The Quang Ninh Coal
of feldspar-rich sediments of the

Basin is wellknown long ago. The coal of
this basin suffered the high metamorphism
and became anthracite, which has been
exploited during over 100 years. The coalbearing formation includes from 2 to 58 coal
seams with the mean thickness of some
metres (Day pencil of seams at L9 Tri: 92.2
m), having the total resource as 10 billions
tons, among it the explored and reserve
calculated is over 2 billions tons of high
quality coal giving the average calorie as
8050 kcl/kg. Besides, there still is natural
gas, such as methane, nitrogen, carbonic acid
3
gas, etc., locally reaching up to 25-30 m /t of
coal. Lignite and bituminous coal exist in
Tertiary basin of the B~c B9 Gulf,
especially, in the Ha N9i Depression of the
Red River Delta - 115 seams have been
estimated with the forecasted total resource
of about 250 billions tons.
Oil and gas of great potentiality in the
Red River and B~c B9 Gulf basins are being
investigated. Oil shale in D6ng Ho (north of
H~ Long) has been explored, giving the

reserves of 4204 millions tons with the oil
content of 5.7 - 12.65%.

Hon Gai
(Tjn-rTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
h g ) and Dong Ho (E3 d h ) formations,
of porphyritic rhyolite (T2a) and of
keratophyre (D); it is of good quality. The
glass sand deposit in the Van Hai Island
contains silica sand of regular granulity (0.10.4 mm) with Si02 ~ 99.1%, 01 eolianmarine origin forming a sand dune band of
3-4 km in length with the reserves of over 10
millions tons. Besides, there still is refractory
clay
from coal-bearing formation ( T 3 ) ,
dolomite (D 2-3,C-P), quartzite (D1-2),etc ..
M in e ra l fe rtilize r re s o u rc e .
Precipitated
phosphorite in (C-P) limestone caves and
karstic dolines at Hoanh B6, along the Road
No.18A and on some islands of the H~ Long
Bay has the P 20S content of ~ 8%. Peat from
Holocene sediments at Thuy Nguyen, An
Hai, etc. has the coastal-marshy origin.
B a s ic m e ta ls . Beside some deposits of
antimony in Dong Mo, Khe Chim, Ducmg
Huy there still are arsenopyrite, fluorite,
pyrite and gold. Mercury under the form of
cinnabar impregnated in cataclastic rocks of
chert-limestone in the Hoanh B6 Deposit is
unknown in perspective.

Beside the surface water
C o n s tru c tio n m a te ria l re s o u rc e s . Limestone,
and groundwater in the coastal zone and on
as a cement raw material, occurs in many
some islands, in Quang Hanh mineral water
places with large scale, good quality (CaO ~
occurs near the high tide level and in some
53.85%; MgO ~ 0.25%; Fe203 ~ 0.12 %,
boreholes. It is of the brome type, a bit hot
etc.), and the reserves of hundreds millions
(25-45oC), of the sodium chloride chemical
tons. Besides, there is clay as additive in
type and of high mineralization ([mg/l]: Br =
cement production, obtained from weathered
20.5-49; ~Si04 = 22; Sr = 4.2; pH = 7.4,
clay shale and formation of loose sediments.
etc.), transparent, without odour, of salt taste,
Tile and brick clay from the Gieng Day
with the total mineralization of2.7 g/l.
Mine (Hoanh B6) is wellknown by its high
In addition, in the H~ Long Bay there still
0
quality (SiO ~ 70.56%; Ah 3 ~ 14.16%;
is the environment resource, such as the
In
landscape, population community of some
Fe203 ~ 4.56%; CaO ~ 0.15%, etc.).ZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA
addition, there still are many construction
nations, retum of the daily tides of high

stones, such as facing stone, freestone,
amplitude, biological diversity of ecological
limestone for lime production, quartzite, as
system on the islands, the bay of hard or soft
well as quartz aggregate found on the shore
floor, coral reefs, mangrove
forest,
and in the sea.
archeological sites, etc., but the most
C e ra m ic , re fra c to ry g la s s ra w m a te ria ls . _ .' attractive is the tourism resource.
Kaolin in this area is the weathering product

14

W a te r re s o u rc e .


In short, the H~ Long Bay has been
internationally recognized
through the
inscription by UNESCO to the List of World
Heritage with the aesthetic value as a
grandiose and illusory natural chef d'oeuvre,
and has been receiving the second
coronation on the value of historical
geology, especially, the limestone karst
geomorphology and caves in the common
setting of earth-sky-sea, that makes the bay
to become an matchless site in the world.
For the sustainable development of the

H~ Long Bay World Heritage, we all need to
preserve it and maximally restrict the danger
'caused by environmental impact, such as the
discharge of overburden and poor rocks
during the coal exploitation to the bay,
discharge of construction materials, etc.,
discharge of urban wastes, activity of
navigation and port, destruction of mangrove
forest, touristic industry, etc. for protecting
the outstanding on the world values of
special quality for the interest of all the
mankind.
In. the end, the authors would like to
express their sincere thanks to the Viet Nam
National Committee for UNESCO, the
Commission of Management for the H~
Long Bay by the receipt of many related
references, and to the Professors Tong Dzuy
Thanh and Vfi Khuc for their precious
contribution to this paper.

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