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Mekong River. A portion of the delta of the Mekong River as it flows through southern Vietnam and empties into the South China Sea. (more) China Sea, part of the western Pacific Ocean bordering the Asian mainland on the east-southeast.
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South China Sea, arm of the western Pacific Ocean that borders the Southeast Asian mainland. It is bounded on the northeast by the Taiwan Strait (by which it is connected to the East China Sea); on the east by Taiwan and the Philippines; on the southeast and south by Borneo, the southern limit of the Gulf of Thailand, and the east coast of the Mala...
The sea’s major feature is a deep rhombus-shaped basin in the eastern part, with reef-studded shoals rising up steeply within the basin to the south (Reed and Tizard banks and the Nanshan Island area) and northwest (Paracel Islands and Macclesfield banks). The deep portion, called the China Sea Basin, has a maximum depth of 16,457 feet (5,016 metres) and an abyssal plain with a mean depth of some 14,100 feet (4,300 metres).
Along the eastern side of the basin, the continental shelf falls off sharply near the Philippine islands of Luzon and Palawan and forms the Palawan Trough near the latter island. Along the northwest side of the basin toward the mainland is a broad, shallow shelf as wide as 150 miles (240 km). This shelf includes the Gulf of Tonkin and the Taiwan Strait and the large islands of Hainan and Taiwan.
To the south, off Vietnam, the shelf narrows and connects with the Sunda Shelf, one of the largest in the world, which covers the area between Borneo, Sumatra, and the Malay Peninsula and includes the southern part of the South China Sea, the Gulf of Thailand, and the Java Sea. This broad trough is about 130 feet (40 metres) deep at its periphery and up to 330 feet (100 metres) in its central part. On the bottom of the shelf is a network of submerged river valleys that converge into the Sunda Depression and then into the China Sea Basin.
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Water and its Varying Forms
The Sunda Shelf is covered with littoral sediments contributed by submerged valleys. The inner zone of mud is characteristic of the continental shelf near the Mekong and Red river deltas, while the sediment of the deeper parts of the South China Sea is mainly composed of clay. A characteristic part of the sediments in both deep and shallow water is volcanic ash. This is found in layers, derived from large volcanic eruptions in the East Indies, notably the enormous eruption of Krakatoa in 1883, during which ash was transported through the entire area by both wind and currents.
Weather in the sea is tropical and largely controlled by monsoons. In summer, monsoonal winds blow predominantly from the southwest; in winter, winds blow from the northeast. Annual rainfall varies from about 80 inches (2,000 mm) to more than 120 inches (3,000 mm) around the southern basin. Summer typhoons are frequent.
Monsoons control the sea-surface currents as well as the exchange of water between the South China Sea and adjacent bodies of water. In August the surface flow into the South China Sea is from the south from the Java Sea through the Karimata and Gelasa (Gasper) straits. Near the mainland the general flow is northeasterly, passing out through the Taiwan and Luzon straits. There is a weak countercurrent on the eastern side of the sea. In February the flow is generally to the southwest; the strongest flow occurs in summer along the bulging part of Vietnam, with speeds of up to 3.5 miles (5.6 km) per hour generated by the strong southwestern monsoon.
The near-surface waters are relatively warm (about 84 °F [29 °C] in the summer) because of the low latitude and a tendency for the equatorial current to feed warm water into the area. In early summer, wind from the southwest not only moves the surface water to the northeast but causes it to be displaced off the coast. As a result, upwelling areas having colder surface temperatures and higher nutrient content are found off central Vietnam. In winter the general surface temperature is cooler, ranging from about 70 °F (21 °C) in the north to 81 °F (27 °C) in the south.
Jul 15, 2021 · The South China Sea is shallow along the coasts of China, Vietnam and the Gulf of Thailand, while it falls to depths of up to 5,016 m in the eastern part (China Sea Basin). Surrounding the basin lie the Paracel Islands to the northwest, equidistantly from Hainan and Vietnam, and to the south, the Nanshan and Spratly Islands.
Nov 15, 2023 · Most of its periphery, particularly in the east, south, and southwest, is outlined by the South China Sea in the Pacific Ocean. Vietnam’s land border is only 4,550 km, but its sea border is an outstanding 3,260 km, starting from Mong Cai beaches in the north to Ha Tien beaches in the southwest. Related: Information on Vietnam Land Border Crossing.
3 days ago · It borders the Gulf of Tonkin, Gulf of Thailand, and Pacific Ocean, along with China, Laos, and Cambodia. What are the 7 borders of Vietnam? Vietnam shares land borders with China to the north, and Laos and Cambodia to the west.
Feb 1, 2024 · Sea-level trends and variability along the coast of Vietnam over 2002–2018: Insights from the X-TRACK/ALES altimetry dataset and coastal tide gauges - ScienceDirect. Available online 31 October 2023.
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Mar 3, 2014 · Vietnam’s sea surface occupies around 1,000,000 square kilometers; its coast line stretches 3,000 km along the South China Sea of the Pacific Ocean. The mountain and hill areas have an abundant deposit of natural resources and minerals.
