QESOSA Tong Kwok Wah Secondary School
Living with Natural Hazards 
Name:
2013-2014 S3 Geography
(
)
S.3(
)
Unit 5.2: How can we describe the relief of Hong Kong?
Key Questions:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
What is relief?
What is the relief of Hong Kong?
How do we show relief on maps?
How can we draw a cross-section from a contour map?
What is the vertical exaggeration of a cross-section?
How can we find the gradient of a slope from a contour map?
How can we recognize relief features on contour maps?
Preparatory task
Find out the meaning of the BOLD words. Write down the definition in Chinese in the boxes below.
Passage A

The height of land and the shape it takes is called (1) relief. On a contour map, relief of a place is
shown by (2) contour lines.

The difference in height between two contour lines is called the (3) vertical interval.

The degree of enlargement of a cross-section is called the (4) vertical exaggeration.

A slope is an inclined ground surface. Contour lines that are wide apart show (5) gentle slope.
Those that are close together show (6) steep slope.

(7) Gradient is the ratio of the vertical distance to the horizontal distance.

A (8) concave slope, a (9) convex slope, a (10) hill, a (11) spur, a (12) valley, a (13) cliff, a (14)
ridge and a (15) saddle are the common relief features that can found in Hong Kong.
English
1.
relief
2.
contour lines
3.
vertical interval
4.
vertical exaggeration
5.
gentle slope
6.
steep slope
7.
gradient
8.
concave slope
9.
convex slope
10. hill
11. spur
12. valley
13. cliff
14. ridge
15. saddle
Chinese
地勢
等高線
垂直間距
垂直誇大率
緩坡
陡坡
坡度
凹坡
凸坡
山丘
山咀
山谷
陡壁
山脊
鞍形山口
1
QESOSA Tong Kwok Wah Secondary School
Living with Natural Hazards 
2013-2014 S3 Geography
(
)
S.3(
)
Name:
1. What is relief? (Textbook, p.10)
The following photo shows a place in Hong Kong. Describe the place.
 There are two main land feature.
Land feature X: lowland/ flat land
Land feature Y: highland
 The shape of the land _is irregular__.
 The land surface varies in _height_and
_shape_.
Definition:
Relief refers to _the height of land___ and _the shape of land______.
2. What is the relief of Hong Kong? (Textbook, p.10)
Read the following map and photos and complete the following questions.
2
QESOSA Tong Kwok Wah Secondary School
Living with Natural Hazards 
Yuen Long Plain : __E___
Lion Rock: ___B____
i)
Name:
Kowloon Peninsula: _A__
Lantau Peak: __F_____
2013-2014 S3 Geography
(
)
S.3(
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Fanling Lowland : __D__
Pat Sin Leng: ___C_____
Match the photos with places A to F in Figure 1. Write your answers under the photos.
ii) Where are the lowlands (below 200m)?
They are mainly located at Yuen Long, Fanling, Kam Tin and Kowloon Peninsula.
iii) How would you describe the slopes of these hills in the above photos?
(Hint: steep or gentle?)
The slopes of these hills are __steep_________________________________.
iv) How would you describe the relief of Hong Kong?
 The relief of Hong Kong is mainly _hilly_. Many areas are higher than
_200_meters.
 Over 60% of the land is made up of _slopes___and most of them are __steep_____.

Lowland in Hong Kong is _limited_____. Lowlands are mainly located at
_Yuen Long____, __Fanling_______and __Kam Tin_____.
3
QESOSA Tong Kwok Wah Secondary School
Living with Natural Hazards 
Name:
2013-2014 S3 Geography
(
)
S.3(
)
3. How do we show relief on maps? (Textbook, p.10-12)
Below maps shown the different ways to show the relief on a map. Read them and
complete the following questions
Figure 3.1
 Use _different colour______ to show the relief of
Hong Kong. This is called __colouring_______.
Figure 3.1

_Brown___ areas usually represent highlands.

__Green___areas usually represent lowlands.

__Blue____areas usually represent rivers or seas.
A relief map
Figure 3.2
 Use __different lines_____to show the relief on
map. This is called ___contouring___________.
 Every point along a contour line indicates the
same __height______________.
 The unit of the height is __meter(m)_______.
 The difference in height between two contour
lines is called __vertical interval_____________.
 The lines can also show the _shape______and the
__steepness____ of slopes.
Figure 3.2
i)
A contour map
Refer to Figure 3.2. Answer the following questions.
Estimate the height of
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
The Peak
: ____225m_________
: ____275m_________
: ____225m_________
: ____225m_________
: ____around 287m___
: _____346m________
4
QESOSA Tong Kwok Wah Secondary School
Living with Natural Hazards 
Name:
2013-2014 S3 Geography
(
)
S.3(
)
4. How can we draw a cross-section from a contour map?
(Textbook, p.12-13)
Refer and follow the steps on Textbook (p.13-14) to draw the cross-section of XY and
CD in the following contour maps.
5
QESOSA Tong Kwok Wah Secondary School
Living with Natural Hazards 
Name:
2013-2014 S3 Geography
(
)
S.3(
)
5. What is the vertical exaggeration of a cross-section?
(Textbook, p.14)
Study the contour map below and draw the cross-section of XY in the space provided.
Figure 5.1 Scale 1: 20 000
i)
Figure 5.2 Scale : 1: 10 000
Refer to the above two cross-sections. Do they look the same? Why?
No, they do not look the same. Figure 5.2 is taller than Figure 5.1. It is because
the vertical scale has enlarged.
ii) What is the vertical exaggeration?
It is the ratio between the vertical scale and the horizontal scale.
iii) Calculate the vertical exaggeration of the cross-section in Figure 5.1.
1: 20 000
1 time
1: 20 000
iv) Calculate the vertical exaggeration of the cross-section in Figure 5.2.
1: 10 000
2 times
1: 20 000
6
QESOSA Tong Kwok Wah Secondary School
Living with Natural Hazards 
Name:
2013-2014 S3 Geography
(
)
S.3(
)
6. How can we find the gradient of a slope from a contour
map? (Textbook, p.15-16)
Task 1: Study the following photos and complete the questions below.
Figure 5.1
i)
Figure 5.2
Colour the slope in the above two figures.
ii) What is a slope?

a slope is _an inclined ground surface.

people can identify whether a slope is steep or not on contour map by drawing a
_____________________
cross-section of a slope or simply looking at the spacing of the contour lines.

we can measure how steep a slope is by using __gradient______________. It is
the ratio of the vertical distance to the horizontal distance .
Task 2: Refer and follow the steps on Textbook (p.16) and find out the gradient in the
following contour map.
7
QESOSA Tong Kwok Wah Secondary School
Living with Natural Hazards 
Name:
2013-2014 S3 Geography
(
)
S.3(
)
7. How can we recognize relief of features on contour maps?
(Textbook, p.18-19)
Task 1: The photos below show some relief features. Label the following features.
Photo 7a: __ A convex slope ___
Photo 7b: _ A concave slope
Photo 7c: __ A hill___________
Photo 7d: ___ A saddle_______
Photo 7e: __ A cliff __________
Photo 7f A: _A valley_ B: _ A Spur
Photo 7g: ___ A ridge _______
9
QESOSA Tong Kwok Wah Secondary School
2013-2014 S3 Geography
Living with Natural Hazards 
Name:
(
)
S.3(
Task 2: Describe the contour line according to the following relief features.
)
Relief feature: A convex slope
The slope _ bulges outwards _.As the higher
section of a convex slope is relatively flat,
the spacing of the contour lines is wide. On
the other hand, the lower section of the
slope is steep, so the spacing of the contour
lines is narrow.
Relief feature: A concave slope
The slope __ curves inwards ___. As the
higher section of a concave slope is steep,
the spacing of the contour lines is narrow.
On the other hand, the lower section of the
slope is relatively flat, so the spacing of the
contour lines is wide.
Relief feature: A cliff
The slope is _ vertical or nearly vertical _.
The contour lines are very close to each
other when the cliffs are nearly vertical. On
the other hand, the contour lines are
overlapped when the cliffs is vertical.
9
QESOSA Tong Kwok Wah Secondary School
Living with Natural Hazards 
Name:
2013-2014 S3 Geography
(
)
S.3(
)
Relief feature: A hill
The gradient along the two sides of the
slope are _ similar to each other _.
Relief feature: A saddle
It refers to the __ concave part _________
between two mountains.
Relief feature: A ridge
It refers to _ the narrow and long part
__formed at the highest part of a mountain
range.
9
QESOSA Tong Kwok Wah Secondary School
Living with Natural Hazards 
Name:
2013-2014 S3 Geography
(
)
S.3(
)
Relief feature: A Spur and A valley
__ A spur __ refers to the protruding section
at the foot of a mountain.
__ A valley ___refers to the V-shaped
terrain slanting downwards.
Task 3: Refer to the following contour map of Hong Kong and identify relief features
A-F.
A: __ A gentle slope ___
C: __ A valley
_____
B:__ A steep slope ___
D:___ A spur ________
E: __ A ridge _____
F:___ A hill _________
9
QESOSA Tong Kwok Wah Secondary School
Living with Natural Hazards 
Name:
2013-2014 S3 Geography
(
)
S.3(
)
Which of the following slope is the steepest?
A.
B.
C.
D.
A slope with a gradient of 1 in 10
A slope with a gradient of 1 in 16
A slope with a gradient of 1 in 25
A slope with a gradient of 1 in 50
9