Geography. ROC (Taiwan) Yearbook 2011 Ch01 geography

Song-luo Lake is situated some 1,300 meters above sea level amid high mountains in Yilan County. (Zheng Kai-ren, courtesy of the Tourism Bureau)

01四校(indexed).indd 12 2011/10/17 11:55:08 PM

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At a Glance

Popularly known as “Taiwan,” the Republic of China is located in the Western Pacific between Japan and the Philippines. Territories now under the ROC government’s jurisdiction cover a total area of approximately 36,000 square kilometers,

including the main island of Taiwan, the archipelagoes of Penghu, Kin-men and Matsu, and other islands.

Taiwan is blessed with a wide range of climatic zones from the tropical to the temperate, nurturing an abundant variety of flora and fauna, many of which are endemic to Taiwan. Among the multitude of moun-tains that occupies more than half of Taiwan proper, over 200 peaks tower higher than 3,000 meters above sea level. The smaller islands have their own distinctive natural features, such as the basalt columns on the Penghu Islands and the marine hot springs on Green Island, while the Kinmen Islands and Taiping Island of the Nansha (Spratly) Is-lands are located at strategic positions.

• Abundantvarietyofgeologicalfeatures• Geologicaldatabasetobeestablished• HighestpeakinNortheastAsia(JadeMountain)

1 Geography


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1Geography1Taiwan Proper

Off the eastern coast ofAsia lie themountainous island arcs of the WesternPacific. Taiwan proper is located at thecenter of what lies closest to the conti-nent and marks the edge of theAsiaticcontinental shelf. The largest body ofland between Japan and the Philippines,it measures nearly 400 kilometers fromnorthtosouthandaround145kilometersfromeasttowestatitswidest(seetable,“AreaandGeographicalCoordinates”be-low).Theislandcomposesapproximately99percentoftheterritorynowundertheROCgovernment’sjurisdiction.

Taiwanpropercanbedividedintofivemajorphysiographicalregions:mountainranges, volcanic mountains, foothills,tablelands,andcoastalplainsandbasins.The most prominent geological char-acteristics of the island are the result oftectonic movement (see “Earthquakes”section). The mountain ranges that rundown its center constitute a large tiltedfault block, and on the east side of theisland, a longitudinal fault valley standsbetween this fault block and the EastCoastMountains海岸山脈.The slopes oftheblock’swesternflankdescendgradu-ally, giving way to fertile coastal plainswherethebulkofthepopulationlivesandwheremostindustrialandagriculturalac-tivityisconcentrated.

The shoreline of Taiwan proper islargely unbroken; coral reefs are found

around the island’s southernmost tip aswellasoffTaitungCounty臺東縣ineast-ernTaiwan.

Mountain RangesTaiwan’s five longitudinal mountain

ranges, which are mostly forested, oc-cupynearlyhalfof the island.Therearemore than 200 peaks rising higher than3,000metersabovesealevel,makingforsome of Taiwan’s most dramatic scen-ery. In addition, steep mountains over1,000 meters high constitute about 31percentoftheisland’stotallandarea.Asagroup,themountainrangesextend330kilometers from north to south, almostthefulllengthoftheisland,andanaver-age of about 80 kilometers from east towest. The highest peak in Taiwan—andin Northeast Asia—is Jade Mountain(Yushan)玉山at3,952meters.

Extending down the eastern half ofTaiwanproper, theCentralMountains中央山脈 serve as the island’smajorwater-shed. The range is mostly composed ofhardrockformationsresistanttoweather-ing and erosion, although in someparts,heavy rain has scarred mountainsideswith gorges and sharp valleys. The XueMountains雪山山脈lietothenorthwestoftheCentralMountains, gaining in eleva-tionastheyextendsouthward.Namedaf-tertheirhighestpeak,theJadeMountains玉山山脈runalongthesouthwesternflankof the Central Mountains. To the Jade

Area and Geographical Coordinates

Total Taiwan Area*(sq. km)

No. of Islands

Coastline (km) Longitude Latitude

36,008 86 1,566.3Easternmost124°34’09” Northernmost25°56’21”

Westernmost119°18’03” Southernmost21°45’18”

*NotincludingKinmenandMatsu;includingreclaimedtidallandSource:MinistryoftheInterior


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1Geography1Mountains’ west are theAlishan Moun-tains 阿里山山脈, with elevations of be-tween1,000and2,000meters,while theEast Coast Mountains consist primarilyoflargehills.

Volcanic MountainsSmall outcrops of igneous rock are

scattered across the island, representingat least five periods of igneous activ-ity.While Taiwan’s many volcanoes areeither extinct or dormant, geothermalactivity has produced numerous hotspringsacrosstheisland.Reputedfortheirtherapeutic properties, the springs attracttensofthousandsofforeignvisitorseachyear. The Datun Mountain 大屯山 area,knownforitshotspringsandfumaroles,isaprominentgroupof1,000-meter-highvolcanic peaks between Keelung Port基隆港 and theDanshuiRiver淡水河 thatoverlookTaipei臺北.

FoothillsTheisland’sfoothillsruninanarrow

bandaroundthecentralmountainranges,widening in the west. Their topographyincludes low hills, longitudinal valleysandbroadfaultscarps.Thewesternfoot-hills are home to deposits of coal andoil.Traversedbythreemajorrivers—theDajia 大甲溪, the Dadu 大肚溪 and theZhuoshui 濁水溪—the region betweenFengyuan 豐原 (in Taichung 臺中) andNantou南投isthewidestsectionoffoot-hills.ItincludestheSunMoonLakeBa-sin日月潭盆地thatrises765metersabovesealevel.ProminentfoothillsinsouthernTaiwan include the Chiayi-Pingtung 嘉

義–屏東 belt and the Hengchun foothills,whichoccupymostoftheHengchunPen-insula恆春半島.

TablelandsBelow the foothills,Taiwan’s terrain

gradually slopes down into tablelands

at elevations of between 100 and 500meters.Thesearethickdepositsofsand-stonegravelthatwereformedbyerodedmaterial washed down from higher ar-eas, thoughsomegravelbedsmayhavebeendepositedneartheseabeforebeingraised up into flat-topped tablelands byrecent tilting. The broadest tableland isthe Taoyuan Terrace 桃園臺地 in north-westTaiwan,followedbytheHouliTer-race 后里臺地 in Taichung, the Dadu 大

度 andBagua八卦 terraces inChanghua

Taiwan’s High Peaks (meters)

JadeMountain玉山

MainPeak主峰 3,952EasternPeak東峰 3,869NorthernPeak北峰 3,858SouthernPeak南峰 3,844

XueMountain雪山 3,886XiuguluanMountain秀姑巒山 3,825Mabolasi(orWulameng)Mountain烏拉孟山 3,785

NanhuMountain南湖大山 3,742CentralRangePoint中央尖山 3,705GuanMountain關山 3,668DongjunMountain東郡大山 3,619QilaiMountain奇萊山

NorthernPeak北峰 3,607MainPeak主峰 3,560

XiangyangMountain向陽山 3,603DajianMountain大劍山 3,594CloudPeak雲峰 3,564DaxueMountain大雪山 3,530PintianMountain品田山 3,524DabajianMountain大霸尖山 3,492WumingMountain無明山 3,451HehuanMountain合歡山 3,417ZhuosheMountain卓社大山 3,369NenggaoMountain能高山

SouthernPeak南峰 3,349MainPeak主峰 3,262

BaiguMountain白姑大山 3,341DanMountain丹大山 3,340XinkangMountain新康山 3,331TaoMountain桃山 3,325TarokoMountain太魯閣大山 3,283

Source:MinistryoftheInterior


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彰化, and theHengchunTerrace恆春臺地inthesouth.

Coastal Plains and BasinsThe foothills and tablelands merge

into broad alluvial plains sitting at anaverage altitude of less than 100 me-ters above sea level. Composed mainlyof gravel, sand and clay, these plainscompose most of the 23 percent ofTaiwan’s land that is both level andarable. Wide tidal flats characterize theshore of the western plain, which facesthe Taiwan Strait. Here, shore currentshave built up a series of spits and sand-bars, and many lagoons have been cre-ated through shoreward shifting of thesandbars.Allof the largerriversrunningthrough the plains have their sources inhigh mountains. After emerging fromthe foothills, they diverge into smallerchannels thatmeander toward theocean,forming large alluvial deltas. Many oftheseriversandstreamshavebeenlinkedbyirrigationanddrainagecanals.

ThevastJiananPlain嘉南平原insouth-western Taiwan extends from Changhuain central Taiwan to Kaohsiung高雄 inthe south and accounts for 12 percentofTaiwan’stotallandarea.Nextlargestare the Pingtung Plain 屏東平原 in thesouthandtheYilanPlain宜蘭平原inthenortheast. There are two major basinsin Taiwan, the Taipei Basin 臺北盆地and the Taichung Basin 臺中盆地. Overin easternTaiwan, thenarrowEastRiftValley 花東縱谷 sits about 120 metersabovesealevel.

Rivers and LakesThere are 151 rivers and streams in

Taiwan. The Zhuoshui River in centralTaiwan is the longest (187 kilometers)while the Gaoping River 高屏溪 in thesouth has the largest drainage basin(3,257 square kilometers). The Central

MountainsareTaiwan’smainwatershed;thusmost of its rivers and streams floweither eastward or westward. They aregenerally short and steep, especially intheeast,andcanbecometorrentialduringrainstormswhentheycarrylargeamountsofmudandsilt.Despiteabundantrainfallinsummer,watercanbescarceduetotherapidflowof these rivers (see“Climate”section).Ontheplains, riverbeds tend tobewideandshallow,formingchallengesfor themanagement anddevelopmentofwaterresources.

Most of Taiwan’s lakes are situatedin thewest, andmanyareusedas reser-voirs.SunMoonLakeinNantouCounty,withanareaof8squarekilometersandadepthof30meters,istheisland’slargestand deepest lake. The next largest lakesontheislandareLongluanLake龍鑾潭onthe Hengchun Peninsula and Liyu Lake鯉魚潭 inHualienCounty花蓮縣, both ofwhich have an area of around 1 squarekilometer.There are also a dozen alpinelakesintheXueMountainsandtheCen-tralMountains.Thehighestamong themareoval-shapedCuiLake翠湖intheXue

Hot and Distinct Springs in Taiwan Taiwan is among the world’s top

hot spring sites.Over 100 spring loca-tionshavebeenfoundinTaiwan.Whilethe Datun Mountain area in northernTaiwan has the highest density of hotsprings,80percentofTaiwan’sspringsare scattered along the flanks of theCentral Mountains from Yilan 宜蘭 inthenorthtoPingtung 屏東inthesouth.

Taiwan also has some of the raresttypesofspringsintheworld,includingthe carbonated “cold” springs consis-tentlybubblingupat22degreesCelsiusin Su-ao蘇澳, themurky alkalinemudsprings in Guanziling 關仔嶺 and theseabedhot springs that canbeenjoyedintheopenaironGreenIsland綠島.


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1Geography1

Mountains and sapphire-colored Jia-mingLake嘉明湖inthesouthernCentralMountains,bothofwhichsitatover3,300metersabovesealevel.

Special LandformsTaiwanisendowedwithrichcoastal

landforms.Yehliu野柳 on the northeastcoast is famous for its ocean-erodedrockformationssuchasseacliffs,abra-sion platforms, sea caves and stacks,and rocks in unique shapes. AlthoughTaiwaniswell-knownforitslushgreenmountains, badlands also exist at thewestern foot of the East Coast Moun-tains and other hilly areaswhere softer

sedimentary rocks and clay-rich soilshave been extensively eroded by windandwater.Thesedistinctive landscapes,featuringbarren,ruggedslopesanddeepnarrow gullies, are known to the localsas “flaming mountains”火炎山 (such asthose in Sanyi三義) and “moonworld”月世界 (such as Taitung’s Liji Badlands利吉惡地). Mud volcanoes, often foundin overpressured gas-rich mud lay-ers, are located mainly in Tainan 臺南,Kaohsiung and Taitung. The TarokoGorge太魯閣峽谷 isworld-renowned forits magnificent array of marble valleysdeeply cut by the erosive power of theLiwuRiver立霧溪.

Major Rivers

Name Length Drainage Passes Through

(km) (sq. km)

ZhuoshuiRiver濁水溪 187 3,157 Nantou,Changhua,ChiayiandYunlincountiesGaopingRiver高屏溪 171 3,257 KaohsiungCityandPingtungCountyDanshuiRiver淡水河 159 2,726 TaipeiCity,NewTaipeiCityandTaoyuanCountyZengwenRiver曾文溪 138 1,177 TainanCity,ChiayiCountyandKaohsiungCityDajiaRiver大甲溪 124 1,236 TaichungCity,YilanandNantoucountiesWuRiver烏溪 119 2,026 TaichungCity,ChanghuaandNantoucountiesDa-anRiver大安溪 96 758 MiaoliCountyandTaichungCityBeinanRiver卑南溪 84 1,603 TaitungCountyBeigangRiver北港溪 82 645 YunlinandChiayicountiesXiuguluanRiver秀姑巒溪 81 1,790 HualienandTaitungcountiesBazhangRiver八掌溪 81 475 ChiayiCountyandTainanCityPuziRiver朴子溪 76 427 ChiayiCityandCountyLanyangRiver蘭陽溪 73 978 YilanCountyJishuiRiver急水溪 65 379 TainanCityTouqianRiver頭前溪 63 566 HsinchuCityandCountyErrenRiver二仁溪 61 339 TainanandKaohsiungcitiesHoulongRiver後龍溪 58 537 MiaoliCountyHualienRiver花蓮溪 57 1,507 HualienCountyZhonggangRiver中港溪 54 446 HsinchuandMiaolicountiesHepingRiver和平溪 48 561 YilanandHualiencountiesFengshanRiver鳳山溪 45 250 HsinchuCountyDonggangRiver東港溪 44 472 PingtungCountyYanshuiRiver鹽水溪 41 340 TainanCityAgongdianRiver阿公店溪 38 137 KaohsiungCitySichongRiver四重溪 32 125 PingtungCounty

Source:WaterResourcesAgency,MinistryofEconomicAffairs


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Flora and FaunaTaiwan’swiderangeofclimaticzones

and its contrasting topographies haveendowed the islandwith a rich diversityof flora and fauna. Over 50,000 animaland plant species—2.9 percent of theworld’stotal—thriveontheisland,whichaccounts for only 0.025 percent of theworld’s total land mass. Of marine life,Taiwan’swaters are home to 10 percentoftheworld’sspecies.Some110speciesof mammals, 500 species of birds, 100speciesofreptiles,38speciesofamphib-ians, 3,000 species of fish and 20,000identified species of insects (includingaround 400 butterfly species) are knownto inhabitTaiwan.The island’s abundantplantlifecomprises600speciesofferns,4,000 species of angiosperms and about70speciesofgymnosperms.

AnumberofTaiwan’splants,amphib-ians and freshwater fishes are relict spe-cies forwhichTaiwan served as ahavenduring glacial periods. Upon the retreat

of theicesheets, thedistributionof theirrelativesgraduallyshiftednorthorupintothe HimalayanMountains, leaving themsecluded on Taiwan. The populationsthatsurvivedinthemountainsofTaiwaneventuallydivergedfromtheirancestors,becominguniqueendemicspecies.

According to theCatalog of Life in Taiwan 臺灣物種名錄 maintained by theAcademiaSinica’sBiodiversityResearchC e n t e r 中央研究院生物多樣性研究中心 ,around 25 percent of the plant species,64 percent of mammals, 18 percent ofresidentbirds,31percentofnon-marinereptiles, 27 percent of amphibians and62.5 percent of insects found on the is-landareendemictoTaiwan.Somewell-known endemic species or sub-speciesinclude Formosan serow 臺灣長鬃山羊,Formosan macaques 臺灣獼猴, Mikadopheasant帝雉,Formosanbluemagpie臺灣藍鵲,Swinhoe’spheasant藍腹鷴,Taipeigreen tree frog臺北樹蛙,Formosan sala-mander臺灣山椒魚,Formosanlandlockedsalmon櫻花鉤吻鮭,paradisefish蓋斑鬥魚,

“The Queen’s Head” rock formation in Yehliu on the north coast of Taiwan. (Hong Chong-fu, courtesy of the Tourism Bureau)


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1Geography1

Taitungcycad臺東蘇鐵,Formosanamen-totaxus臺灣穗花杉,Taiwanbeech臺灣山毛

櫸andsomevarietiesoforchidplants.

ClimateTaiwan, which straddles the Tropic

of Cancer and is situated off the eastcoastofAsia in thepathofwarmoceancurrents, generally enjoys an oceanicand subtropical monsoon climate. Sum-mersare longwithhighhumidity,whilewintersareshortandusuallymild.Meanmonthly temperatures range from 15 to20 degrees Celsius in winter to around28degreesCelsius insummer.Althoughwinters are generally mild, tempera-tures can sometimes drop suddenly tobelow 10 degrees Celsius due to coldfronts from theChinesemainland, caus-ing agricultural and fishery losses. Thehighest and lowest urban temperatureswere recorded in Taitung (40.2 degreesCelsiusinMay2004)andTaichung(-1.0degree Celsius in February 1901). Overthepast100years, theaveragetempera-tureinTaiwanhasincreasedbyabout0.8

degreeCelsius,andinurbanareas,by1.4degreesCelsius.

Taiwan’s annual weather patterns arestrongly influenced by the East Asianmonsoonal flow. The winter monsoonlasts from October to late March andbringssteadyraintonortheasternTaiwan,whilethecentralandsouthernpartsoftheisland experience mostly sunny winters.Many of Taiwan’s offshore islands arebuffeted by powerful winds during thistime. Strong winter monsoons blowingoverthesoutherntipoftheCentralMoun-tainsanddowntotheHengchunPeninsulaareusuallyreferred toas the“downslopewind”落山風, while those sweeping overthe northern county of Hsinchu新竹 arenicknamedjiu jiang feng九降風(meaning“windsoftheninthlunarmonth”).

Dust storms from the Chinese main-land brought by the northeastmonsoonscan at times affect air quality in earlyspring. The summer monsoon begins inMay and June with the “plum rain” 梅

雨 season (sonamedas itcoincideswiththeplumseason)andusuallyendsinlate

A Formosan Blue Magpie rests on a branch of a tung oil tree in Emei Township, Hsinchu County. (Courtesy of the Council for Hakka Affairs)


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September. Plum rains are the second-most important source of rainfall inTaiwan. During this period, the southexperiencesrelativelyhigh levelsofpre-cipitation while the north remains com-parativelydry.

As Taiwan lies close to the tropicalcyclone formation zone in the westernNorth Pacific, summer months are alsomarked by frequent thunderstorms andtyphoons, with an average of three tofour typhoonshittingTaiwaneachyear.Though the strong winds and heavyrainfall that typhoons can bring oftenresult in severe damage, the storms arealso a significant source of water, andwindward mountain slopes can receiveasmuchas300millimetersofrainfallinjust 24 hours. Gusty winds brought bytyphoons or tropical storms that moveover the mountains and descend as hotand dry air on the leeward side some-timescausefoehn(called“burningwind”焚風 locally)intheTaitungareathatcandamageplantsandcrops.

In August 2009, Typhoon MorakotmadelandfallonTaiwan’seasterncoast.However,itsexceptionallyheavyrainfallresulted inseveremudslides insouthernTaiwan, claiming nearly 700 lives andcausing considerable damage, including

losses of nearly US$600 million in theagricultural sector alone. In October2010, Typhoon Megi passed across thewesternportionofTaiwan.Although thetyphoon did notmake land, while inter-acting with the northeast monsoon, ittriggered widespread flash flooding andlandslides throughout the northeast partof the island. These caused 38 deaths,injured96peopleandresultedinconsid-erableeconomicloss.

Mean annual rainfall on Taiwanproper is approximately 2,500millime-ters. Northern Taiwan generally seesgreater precipitation, with 60 percentofitsannualsharefallingbetweenMayandOctober,whilethesouthreceives90percent over the same period. Through-outTaiwan,NovembertoFebruaryisthedriestperiod.Duetoanunevendistribu-tion of rainfall, over 70 reservoirs andweirshavebeenbuiltaroundtheislandtoensureasteadysupplyofwater.

EarthquakesSeismicactivityiscommoninTaiwan

duetotheisland’slocationonthecircum-Pacific seismic belt at the junction ofthe Manila and Ryukyu trenches alongthewest sideof thePhilippineSeaplate

Climate Statistics in Taiwan by Area (1981-2010)

Average Temperature (°C) Average AverageCity Annual Rainy Days Annual January July Rainfall (mm) per Year

Taipei 23.0 16.1 29.6 2,405 166Keelung 22.6 16.0 29.3 3,772 198Taichung 23.3 16.6 28.6 1,773 114Hualien 23.4 18.0 28.5 2,177 154Kaohsiung 25.1 19.3 29.2 1,855 87Hengchun 25.1 20.7 28.4 2,022 113

Source:CentralWeatherBureau,MinistryofTransportationandCommunications


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1Geography

The Geology Act AdoptedTaiwan’sLegislaturepassedtheGeologyAct 地質法onNovember16,2010,requiring

thegovernmenttocarryoutanationwidegeologicalsurveyandpubliclydiscloseunstableareas. Under the new act, geological information will be stored in a national database,whichwillbemaintainedbytheCentralGeologicalSurvey中央地質調查所undertheMin-istryofEconomicAffairsandupdatedeveryfiveyears.Inaddition,developmentplansforgeologicallyunstableareaswillgothroughanexhaustivesurveyprocessbeforebeingre-viewedbyacommitteecomprisingexpertsinrelatedfieldsandgovernmentofficials.

The act empowers thegovernment to inspect areas affectedbygeological events thatcouldendangerpublicsafetyandhelpincreasepublicaccesstolandinformation.Obstruc-tionofgeologicalsurveysandinspectionsisprohibited,withviolatorsfacingfinesbetweenNT$100,000(US$3,160)andNT$500,000(US$15,800).Butpublicdisclosureofgeologi-callyunstablelandstillrequirestheapprovalofareviewcommittee.

1(PSP). Geologists have identified a totalof33majoractivefaultsontheisland.

According to the Central WeatherBureau 交通部中央氣象局, from 1994 to2010,about15,000to18,000earthquakesoccurred annually in Taiwan, of whicharound 800 to 1,000 were actually feltby people each year. Themagnitude-7.3earthquakewhichoccurredonSeptember21, 1999 was the most catastrophicnatural disaster in decades, with 2,415people killed and more than 11,300peopleinjured.

ThePSPandtheEurasianplate(EUP)converge at a rate of about 7 to 8 cen-timeters every year. This convergence,which created the uplift that formedTaiwan’sCentralMountains,continuestosubjectmost of the island to northwest-southeast compression. East of Taiwan,thePSPsubductsnorthwardbeneath theEUP,whiletothesouthoftheisland,theEUP underthrusts eastward beneath thePSP.SeismicactivityinnortheasternandsouthernTaiwanisassociatedwiththesetwosubductionzones.

PenghuComprising 64 islets, the 126.9-

square-kilometer archipelago of the

Penghu Islands 澎湖群島, also known asthe Pescadores, meaning “fishermen” inPortuguese, is located near the middleof theTaiwanStrait about50kilometersfrom Taiwan proper. The islands act asa natural demarcation between the EastChinaSeaand theSouthChinaSeaand,in the past, were an important stoppingpoint for ships operating in the FarEastor traversing the Pacific. The islets areformed mostly of basalt and have rela-tivelyflatterrainresultingfromlong-termerosion. The highest point on the archi-pelagoisonMaoIsland貓嶼at79metersabovesealevel.TheresidentsofPenghuCounty澎湖縣 benefit from some arablelandon the threemain islands,but thereare no perennial rivers. Winding coast-linesformnumerousnaturalharbors,andwarm, shallow coastal waters favor thegrowthofcoral.

The mean temperature in PenghuCountyis23.5degreesCelsiusandannu-alrainfall,at1,013millimeters,isfarbe-lowTaiwan’saverage.Tocompensateforthe area’s high evaporation rates causedbystrongwinds,eightreservoirshavebeenbuilt (including one underground) andmosthouseholdshavetheirownwells.

Ofthe64Penghuislands,only19areinhabited, with over 70 percent of the


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population dwelling on Penghu proper,thelargestislandinthearchipelago.Thetwo other main islands, Xiyu 西嶼 andBaisha 白沙島, are connected by cause-ways as well as by the longest inter-islandbridgeinEastAsia,theCross-seaBridge澎湖跨海大橋.

In 2008, divers found undersea col-umnsofbasaltabout200meterslongand10meterstallnearanuninhabitedisletofthe archipelago.They are believed to betheworld’sonlysuchformations.

KinmenThe 12 islands of Kinmen金門 (also

knownasQuemoy),totaling150.5squarekilometers in area, are situated justoff the southeastern coast of mainlandChina’sFujianProvince福建省.Blockingthe mouth of Fujian’s Xiamen Bay廈門

灣, theyareat ahighly strategicmilitarylocation in theTaiwan Strait.Kinmen isabout 150 kilometers from the PenghuIslands and 277 kilometers fromTaiwanproper. The shortest distance betweenthemainislandofKinmenandmainland

China,however,isjustover2kilometers.Kinmenhas amean temperature of 20.5degrees Celsius and an average annualrainfalloflessthan1,000millimeters.

Though its satellite isletsare lowandflat,KinmenIslanditselfishilly,withTai-wu Mountain’s 太武山 summit being theisland’shighestpointat253meters.Mostof Kinmen’s rivers are short and narrowwith unsteadyflows, and reservoirs havebeen constructed to ensure an adequatewater supply. Zigan Port 子感港, locatedinLiaoluoBay料羅灣onKinmenIsland’ssoutherncoast,isdeepenoughtoaccom-modateshipsofseveralthousandtonnes.

MatsuCollectively administered as Lien-

chiang County 連江縣, Matsu 馬祖 is aminor archipelago of 36 rugged islandstotaling 29.6 square kilometers in area.It is locatedat themouthof theChinesemainland’s Min River 閩江, less than 1kilometer from themainland’s coast andmore than 210 kilometers fromKeelunginnorthernTaiwan.

Buddhist and Taoist temples located in the Lion’s Head Mountain Scenic Area provide a serene retreat. (Lin Jin-shu, courtesy of the Tourism Bureau)

Twin Heart Stone Weir in Qimei Township, Penghu County. (Xu Hong-zhi, courtesy of the Tourism Bureau)


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1Geography1With an areaof 10.6 squarekilome-

ters,Nangan南竿isthelargestandmostpopulousisland,boastingtwoharbors—Fu-ao 福澳 and Matsu. Other major is-lands among the group include Beigan北竿, Gaodeng高登 and Liang Island亮島. The Matsu Islands were formed byan uplift of igneous rock, and graniteis themain natural resource. Themeantemperaturehereis18.8degreesCelsius,while average annual rainfall is about1,035millimeters.

Although the archipelago’s hillyterrain is not naturally suited to agri-culture,eight reservoirshavebeencon-structedand320irrigationwellsdrilledto facilitate farming. This has enabledMatsu to become self-sufficient in veg-etableproduction.

Other IslandsLocated off the Pacific coast of

Taiwan, Green Island 綠島 and OrchidIsland蘭嶼aretwohilly,volcanicislandssurrounded by coral reefs and abundantsea life. Green Island sits 33 kilometerseastofTaiwanproperwithanareaofap-proximately 15 square kilometers, and ishometoZhaoriHotSprings朝日溫泉,oneoftheworld’sthreesaltwaterhotsprings.Orchid Island, which lies 83 kilometersoffthesoutheastcoastofTaiwan,isinhab-ited by the indigenousYami雅美 people(seeChapter2, “People andLanguage”).Theislandhasanareaof47squarekilo-meters,makingitTaiwan’ssecond-largestoffshoreislandafterPenghu.

SittingjustoffthesouthwestcoastofTaiwanproper,Xiaoliuqiu小琉球 is oneof the largestcoral islands in theworldat 6.8 square kilometers. The uniquecoral formations found here were cre-ated by eons ofwind and rain erosion.Muchof thecoral isabrilliantcrimsonas it is composedprimarilyof iron andsiliconoxides.

In addition, the ROC maintains ahistoricalclaimtofourgroupsof islandsscattered over a vast area in the SouthChinaSeathatissurroundedbyrichfish-ing grounds and gas and oil deposits.ThesearetheDongsha(Pratas)Islands東沙群島, theNansha (Spratly) Islands南沙

群島, theXisha (Paracel) Islands西沙群島and the Zhongsha Islands (MacclesfieldBank)中沙群島.Currently, theROC’s ef-fective jurisdiction includes theDongshaIslands,whereanationalparkwasestab-lished in2007,aswellasTaiping Island太平島andZhongzhouReef中洲礁of theNanshaIslands.

The Dongsha Islands are located444 kilometers southwest of Kaohsiungand comprise Dongsha Island 東沙島—acoral atoll with an area of 2.38 squarekilometers—andtwocoralreefs.Inaddi-tion tobeingasourceoffishandminer-als, the islandsareusedasacoastguardoutpost.Ahospital,apowerstation,asat-ellitetrackingfacilityandarunwayhavealsobeenbuiltonDongshaIsland.

With abundant fishing, mineral andpetroleum resources, the Nansha Islandscomprise more than 190 islets, reefs,caysandbanks inanareaextending810kilometers from north to south and 900kilometers fromeast towest.Taiping Is-land, located1,384kilometers southwestofKaohsiung, is the largest island in thegroupwithanareaof0.49squarekilome-ter. The Coast Guard Administration 行

政院海岸巡防署has stationedpersonnelonTaipingIsland,whereanewrunwaywasbuiltin2008.

In keeping with the ROC’s peacefulintentions, the Dongsha Islands, Tai-ping Island and Zhongzhou Reef havebeen transferred from military to civil-ian control. In 2000, responsibility fordefending these islands passed fromtheMinistry of National Defense to theCoast Guard Administration, while the


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• Ministry of the Interior: http://www.moi.gov.tw • Central Weather Bureau: http://www.cwb.gov.tw• Water Resources Agency: http://www.wra.gov.tw• Central Geological Survey: http://www.moeacgs.gov.tw• Penghu County Government: http://www.penghu.gov.tw• Kinmen County Government: http://www.kinmen.gov.tw • Lienchiang County Government: http://www.matsu.gov.tw• Endemic Species Research Institute: http://tesri.coa.gov.tw• Catalogue of Life in Taiwan: http://taibnet.sinica.edu.tw

RelatedWebsites

administration of the islands has beengiventotheKaohsiungCitygovernment.

Finally, lying about 170 kilometersnortheastofTaiwanproperistheDiaoyutai

Archipelago釣魚臺列嶼,atinyislandgrouphistorically attached to the ROC that in-cludesDiaoyutai Island釣魚臺,HuangweiIslet黃尾嶼andChiweiIslet赤尾嶼.


Geography. ROC (Taiwan) Yearbook 2011 Ch01 geography

Documents

main peak

igneous rock

fault block

main islands

central mountains

green island

highest peak

sea level