Leizhou Peninsula

Leizhou Peninsula
A satellite image of the peninsula
Simplified Chinese	雷州半岛
Traditional Chinese	雷州半島
Postal	Leichow Peninsula
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Léizhōu Bàndǎo Yue: Cantonese Jyutping Lui⁴-zau¹ Bun³-dou² Southern Min Hokkien POJ Lûi-chiu Pòaⁿ-tó Leizhou Romanization Lui-tsiú Bòaⁿ-tó

The Leizhou Peninsula, formerly romanized as the Luichow Peninsula, is a peninsula in the southernmost part of Guangdong Province in southern China.

Qing naval forces were stationed at the Leizhou Peninsula.

The Leizhou Peninsula is the third largest peninsula in China with an area of c. 8,500 square kilometers (3,300 sq mi) located on the southwestern end of Guangdong, with the Gulf of Tonkin to the west and the 30 km wide Qiongzhou Strait to the south, separating the peninsula from Hainan Island. It is the most southerly point of continental China.

Geologically, basalt terraces account for 43% of the peninsula's area. The rest is divided up between marine terraces (27%) and alluvial plains (17%). Leizhou Peninsula is dotted with a few dormant volcanoes, beaches, and low-lying diluvial plains.

Leizhou has two separate volcanic fields: a –Holocene field at the northern end of the peninsula west of Zhanjiang (, Leibei Huoshanqun) and the northern end of the Qionglei or Leiqiong volcanic field, which extends across the strait into northern Hainan (, Leinan Huoshanqun). The volcanoes derive from the east-to-west tectonic extension and thinning of the lithosphere connected with the creation of the South China Sea's basin. Two Pleistocene-era basaltic stratovolcanoes are Yingfengling () and Tianyang (), 15 km (9.3 mi) apart in the center of the peninsula. There is also a third volcanic field responsible for some of the islands offshore (, Huoshanyan Daoyu).