Macau | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Climate chart () | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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J | F | M | A | M | J | J | A | S | O | N | D |
32
18
12
|
59
18
13
|
83
21
16
|
217
25
20
|
362
28
24
|
340
30
26
|
290
32
26
|
352
31
26
|
194
30
25
|
117
27
22
|
43
23
18
|
35
20
14
|
Average max. and min. temperatures in °C | |||||||||||
Precipitation totals in mm | |||||||||||
Source: WMO |
Imperial conversion | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
J | F | M | A | M | J | J | A | S | O | N | D |
1.3
64
54
|
2.3
64
56
|
3.2
69
61
|
8.6
76
68
|
14
83
74
|
13
87
78
|
11
89
79
|
14
88
79
|
7.6
86
77
|
4.6
81
72
|
1.7
74
64
|
1.4
67
57
|
Average max. and min. temperatures in °F | |||||||||||
Precipitation totals in inches |
Location, size, border, and coastline
Topography
Climate
Natural resources
Land use and reclamation
Environmental factors
Islands and Peninsulas
Macau is a Special Administrative Region on the southern coast of China. It is located at the south of Guangdong Province, on the tip of the peninsula formed by the Zhujiang (Pearl River) estuary on the east and the Xijiang (West River) on the west. Macau is situated 60 km west of Hong Kong and 145 km southwest of Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong Province. It situates immediately east and south of Zhuhai.
The region comprises the Macau Peninsula and the islands of Taipa and Coloane. Macau was once an island but gradually a connecting sandbar turned into a narrow isthmus. Land reclamation in the 17th century made Macau into a peninsula, and a barrier gate was built to mark the separation between the peninsula and the mainland. Pre-colonial records show that Macau totalled only 2.78 km2 (1.07 sq mi) but began to increase as a result of Portuguese settlement. Land growth has accelerated since the last quarter of the 20th century, from 15 km2 (5.8 sq mi) in 1972 to 16.1 km2 (6.22 sq mi) in 1983 to 21.3 km2 (8.22 sq mi) square kilometres in 1994. Macau's size has gradually increased as result of continued land reclamation, especially on Taipa and Coloane. In 2014, the total land area was approximately 30.3 km².