Ha Long Bay - Cat Ba Archipelago in the northern province of Quang Ninh and neighboring Hai Phong city has been recognized as a world geological heritage site by the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS), thanks to its outstanding global values of geological history and karst geomorphology,  according to a report from the Government News.

It is expected that a list of 100 newly-recognized world geological heritage sites, including the Ha Long Bay - Cat Ba Archipelago, will be announced at the International Geological Conference scheduled for August 25-31, 2024 in Busan (South Korea).

Ha Long Bay - Cat Ba Archipelago includes all stages of the marine submergence of tropical karst as well as three main types of caves - ancient marine frog-jaw caves, ancient karst caves and frog-jaw caves.

Earlier, on September 16, 2023, at the 45th Session of the World Natural Heritage Committee, the UNESCO recognized Ha Long Bay - Cat Ba Archipelago as a world natural heritage site.

This was the first Vietnamese inter-provincial site recognized by UNESCO as a world natural heritage.

The recognition of Ha Long Bay - Cat Ba Archipelago as an international geological heritage by the International Union of Geological Sciences further affirms the value of this heritage.

The appearance of Ha Long Bay - Cat Ba Archipelago and its unique and famous geological and geomorphological values today are the result of a regional tectonic movement that lasted more than 500 million years.