Geology and geomorphology: 

Located in the middle of the Yangtze platform, Jingzhou belongs to the late and recent tectonic belt of the second subsiding belt of the Neocathaysian system. It is located on the western edge of the third step of China's terrain and plays a main role in the Jianghan Plain. The terrain of Jingzhou City is slightly higher in the west and lower in the east, gradually transitioning from low mountains and hills to downland and plains. Jingzhou has 120 square kilometers of low mountains, accounting for 0.8% of the total land area, about 250 square kilometers of hilly areas, accounting for 1.8% of the total land area, about 2,626 square kilometers of downland, accounting for 18.6% of the total land area, and about 11,096 square kilometers of plains, accounting for 78.8% of the total land area, forming a basic landform dominated by plains and downlands and with a few hills and low mountains. The hills are distributed in Qinghe Temple and Liujiachang in Songzi City in the west and Baling Mountain, Jingzhou District in the northwest. The highest point is Daling Mountain in Songzi City, with an elevation of 815.1 meters. The downland are distributed in Chuandian, Mashan and Jinan in Jingzhou District, Mengxi and Zhenggong in Gong'an County, and Tuanshan and Gaoji Temple in Shishou City. The east is low-lying and the lowest point is Shatao Lake, Xintan Township, Honghu City, with an elevation of only 18 meters. 

Climate: 

Jingzhou City belongs to the northern subtropical humid monsoon climate zone. It has the characteristics of four distinct seasons, abundant heat, suitable sunlight, abundant rain, rain in hot season, and long frost-free season. Its total annual radiation is 4,366.8-4,576.2 MJ/m2, and the annual sunshine hours are from 1,823 to 1,978 hours, with the sunshine rate ranging from 41% to 44%. It has an annual average temperature of 16.2-16.6℃, a frost-free season of 250-267 days and an annual precipitation of 1,100-1,300 mm. 

Soil: 

Jingzhou City has fertile soil and deep soil layers. It has 7 soil groups, 14 subgroups, 43 genera, and 200 soil species. It has a total area of soil groups of 563,580 hectares (measured area, the same below), including 281,430 hectares of paddy soil, 186,820 hectares of moisture soil, 26,410 hectares of limestone soil, 25,500 hectares of red soil, 32,270 hectares of yellow brown soil, 10,720 hectares of meadow soil and 433,330 hectares of boggy soil. The result of the arable land rating is as follows: 173,490 hectares of Level 1 land (including 89,600 hectares of paddy fields), accounting for 36.38%; 245,490 hectares of Level 2 land (including 148,950 hectares of paddy fields), accounting for 51.54%; and 57,620 hectares of Level 3 land (including 42,810 hectares of paddy fields), accounting for 12.08%. The arable land with organic content of more than 3.0% is 140,340 hectares, accounting for 29.99%; the arable land with organic content of 10%-30% is 31,568,000 hectares, accounting for 67.45%; and the arable land with organic content of less than 1.0% is 11,940 hectares, accounting for 2.55%. The arable soil has the versatility for planting crops. 

Vegetation: 

Jingzhou City has a forest area of 364,800 hectares, a grassland area of 277,580 hectares, accounting for 19.7% of its land area, forest coverage of 25.88%, and the living wood growing stock of 15.48 million cubic meters. 

Water resources: 

With numerous rivers and lakes and dense water networks, Jingzhou City is one of the areas with the widest inland waters and the densest water networks in China. Jingzhou City has nearly a hundred of large and small rivers, all of which belong to the Yangtze River system, mainly including the stem stream of Yangtze River and its tributaries including Songzi River, Hudu River, Ouchi River and Tiaoxian River; it has more than 30 lakes with an area of over 1,000 mu, a total area of 80,000 hectares. Among them, Honghu Lake is the largest lake in Hubei Province with a total area of 30,800 hectares; Changhu Lake is the second largest one. Jingzhou City has not only rich water resources with a high degree of development and utilization but also good water quality. It has water areas of 353,550 hectares, accounting for 25.13% of its land area. Among them, cultivable water area is 125,220 hectares, accounting for 35.42% of the total water area. There are 468 billion cubic meters of water from the rivers beyond Jingzhou, with overland runoff of 9.16 billion cubic meters in high flow years and 4.85 billion cubic meters in low flow years. The water resources are efficiently utilized. The average utilization rate of water resources in hilly areas is 12.84%and that in plain areas is 13.22%; the quality of more than 80% of the water meets Class I standards for drinking water; that of more than 90% meets the Class II standards for surface water; and that of more than 98% meets the Class III standards for agricultural irrigation. 

Biological resources: 

Jingzhou City is very rich in biological resources, which are diverse and widely distributed in both the north and the south. According to the statistics, Jingzhou City has more than 3,300 biological resources, including 1,169 crop varieties, 33 livestock and poultry varieties, 385 aquatic organisms (82 fish species), more than 620 forest plants, 956 medicinal organisms, and 233 natural enemies of pests. Abundant biological species and variety resources provide an important material basis for the adjustment of agricultural structure and the optimal allocation of ecosystems. 

Mineral resources: 

Jingzhou is rich in mineral resources. It has 35 proven recoverable minerals, including 13 ones with certain recoverable reserves and 20 ones that have been exploited. The main energy minerals are petroleum and coal; chemical minerals include rock salt, bittern, mirabilite, pyrite and barite; building materials minerals include marble, granite, limestone, clay, channel sand and pebbles; metallurgical auxiliary materials include dolomite, high-quality silica, and refractory clay; new type of mineral is bentonite. There are also placer gold, vein gold and so on.