page_title: Paracel Islands
section_title: Geography
hierarchical_section_title: Paracel Islands / Geography
context_page_description: The Paracel Islands, also known as Xisha Islands and Hoang Sa Archipelago, are a disputed archipelago in the South China Sea.
  The archipelago includes about 130 small coral islands and reefs, most grouped into the northeast Amphitrite Group or the western Crescent Group. They are distributed over a maritime area of around 15,000 square kilometres, with a land area of approximately 7.75 square kilometres. The archipelago is approximately equidistant from the coastlines of the People's Republic of China and Vietnam; and approximately one-third of the way from central Vietnam to the northern Philippines.
  The archipelago includes Dragon Hole, the deepest underwater sinkhole in the world.
  The colonial government of French Indochina set up telecommunication and weather stations on Pattle Island in the Crescent Group and Woody Island in the Amphitrite Group in the 1930s, which they regularly supplied until 1945. Later, French and Vietnamese forces landed on Pattle Island in the Crescent Group in January 1947. By 1955 South Vietnam had taken possession of the Crescent Group.
context_section_description: Geographic coordinates: 16°40′N 112°20′E
  Coastline: 518 km (322 mi)
  Climate: tropical
  Elevation extremes:
  Lowest point: South China Sea, sea level
  Highest point: unnamed location on Rocky Island 14 m (46 ft)
  Natural resources: fish, coral reefs, possible reserves of oil and gas of unknown size
  Natural hazards: typhoons
caption: Location of the Paracel Islands showing the more significant PRC settlements
exif: {}