自然概况

位置

江苏简称苏,位于我国大陆东部沿海中心,介于东经116°21′-121°56′,北纬30°45′-35°08′之间。东濒黄海,西连安徽,北接山东,东南与浙江、上海毗邻。

江苏地处美丽富饶的长江三角洲,平原辽阔,主要有苏南平原,江淮平原、黄淮平原和东部滨海平原,自然条件优越,经济基础较好。

面积

全省面积10.72万平方公里,占全国总面积的1.1%,海岸线长954公里。

河流

全省境内河川交错,水网密布,长江横穿东西433多公里,大运河纵贯南北757公里,西南部有秦淮河,北部有苏北灌溉总渠、新沭河、通扬运河等。有大小湖泊290多个,全国五大淡水湖,江苏得其二,太湖和洪泽湖像两面大明镜,分别镶嵌在水乡江南和苏北平原。

资源

江苏以地形地势低平,河湖众多为特点,平原、水面所占比例之大,在全国居首位,成为江苏一大地理优势。水产资源丰富,有广阔的海涂、浅海,东部沿海渔场面积达15.4万平方公里,其中包括著名的吕泗、海州湾等四大渔场,盛产黄鱼、带鱼、昌鱼、虾类、蟹类及贝藻类等。江苏也是全国河蟹、鳗鱼苗的主要产地。内陆水面4000多万亩,养殖面积1148万亩,有淡水鱼类140余种,已利用的有40多种。矿产资源分布广泛,品种较多,已发现的有135种。能源矿产主要有煤炭、石油和天然气；非金属矿产有硫、磷、钠盐、水晶、蓝晶石、蓝宝石、金刚石、高岭土、石灰石、石英砂、大理石、陶瓷粘土；金属矿产有铁、铜、铅、锌、银、金、锶、锰等。粘土类矿产、建材类矿产、化工原料矿产、冶金辅助原料矿产、特种用途矿产和有色金属矿产,是江苏矿产资源的优势。

气候

全省地处亚热带向暖温带过渡区,气候温和,雨量适中,四季分明,以淮河、灌溉总渠一线为界,以南属亚热带湿润季风气候,以北属暖温带湿润、半湿润季风气候。

Natural Resources

Location

Jiangsu （short for Su） lies in the east of the country. It is situated in the center of the coastal area,between 116°21′—121°56′E and 30°45′—35°08′N,with Yellow Sea on the east,Anhui on the west,Shandong on the north,and Zhejiang and Shanghai as its neighbours on the south-east.

Jiangsu seats on the beautiful and abundant Yangtze River Delta with vast plains,mainly including South-Su Plain,Jianghuai Plain,Huanghuai Plain and Eastern Coastal Plain. Jiangsu possesses favorable natural conditions and good economic bases.

Area

The area of Jiangsu is 107.2 thousand square kilometres,occupied 1.1% of the total national area. The coastline of the province is as long as 954 kil0metres.

Rivers and Lakes

In Jiangsu,there are rivers crisscrossing over the water network. The Yangtze River travels the whole area of Jiangsu,from west to east,for more than 433 kilometres. The Grand Canal flows from south to north for 757 kilometres. There are Qinhuai River in the south-west of Jiangsu,Northern Jiangsu Irrigation Canal,Xinshu River and Tongyang canal etc. in the north part. Among the 290 lakes of varying size in Jiangsu,the Taihu Lake and Hongzehu Lake are both listed among the national “Five Largest Freshwater Lakes”,which are like two bright mirrors inlaid respectively into the water town in the south of Yangtze River and Subei Plain.

Resources

The province is characteristic of topographical features in low and flat terrains,with numerous rivers and lakes. The proportion of plains and watersurface areas is so large that it ranks the first in China and becomes a geographical superiority proportion. There are plentiful aquatic resources,vast shallow sea beaches and epeiric seas. There are 154 thousand square kilometres of fishing grounds on the eastern coastal area,composed of the four famous fishing grounds such as Lvsi and Haizhouwan etc.,abound in yellow croaker,hairtail,butterfish, shrimps and crabs,and shellfish and algae. Jiangsu is also a main production area of crabs and young eels in the country. There are more than 40 million mu of interior water surface,with 11.48 million mu of aquatic farm. Among 140 kinds and more of fresh water fishes,over 40 are utilized. Numerous varieties of mineral resources are widely dispersed,135 kinds of them have been discovered. The main sources of energy and minerals dispersed in Jiangsu are coal,  petroleum and natural gas. Non-metallic minerals contain sulphur,phosphorus,sodium, crystal, kyanite, sapphire, diamond, kaolin, limestone, quartzite,marble and pottery clay.Metallic minerals contain iron,copper,lead,zinc,silver,gold,strontium and manganese.The minerals as clay,construction materials, sand,chemical raw materials, metallurgical assistance raw materials, special purpose minerals and non-ferrous metal minerals become a mineral superiority of Jiangsu.

Climate

Jiangsu is located in the subtropical to warm temperate transition zone,with mild climate,moderate rainfall and distinct seasons. It is bounded by the Huaihe River and the general irrigation canal. The south belongs to the subtropical temperate monsoon climate,while the north belongs to the warm temperate humid,semihumid monsoon climate.