Geography of Taiwan Island

Taiwan Island

Nickname: Formosa
Geography
Location	East Asia
Coordinates	23°46′N 121°0′E
Archipelago	Taiwan
Area	35,801 km2 (13,823 sq mi)
Administration
Taiwan
Demographics
Population	23,000,000

Geography of Taiwan Island
Traditional Chinese	臺灣 or 台灣
Simplified Chinese	台湾
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Táiwān Bopomofo ㄊㄞˊ ㄨㄢ Gwoyeu Romatzyh Tairuan Wade–Giles T'ai²-wan¹ Wu Romanization Wu Chinese pronunciation: [d̥e uɛ] Hakka Romanization Thòi-vàn Yue: Cantonese Jyutping Toi4 Waan1 Southern Min Hokkien POJ Tâi-oân Eastern Min Fuzhou BUC Dài-uăng
Portuguese: (Ilha) Formosa
Traditional Chinese	福爾摩沙
Simplified Chinese	福尔摩沙
Literal meaning	beautiful island
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin fúěrmóshā Bopomofo ㄈㄨˊ ㄦˇ ㄇㄛˊ ㄕㄚ Yue: Cantonese Jyutping fuk1ji5mo1saa1

Taiwan (historically called "Formosa" especially prior to 1945, from Portuguese: Ilha Formosa, "Beautiful Island") is a medium-sized island part of the Taiwan archipelago in East Asia, located at 23°30" N, 121°00" E and running through the middle of the Tropic of Cancer (23°5" N). It makes up the majority of the territories of the Republic of China (ROC, commonly known as "Taiwan"), after the ROC lost its mainland China territory in the Chinese Civil War.

Physical boundaries

Main article: Geography of Taiwan

Taiwan Island is the main island of the Taiwan archipelago and comprises about 99% of the current jurisdiction of the Republic of China. The island is separated from China by the Taiwan Strait, which ranges from 220 km (137 mi) at its widest point to 130 km (81 mi) at its narrowest point. Taiwan is bounded by the Bashi Channel in the south, the East China Sea in the north, and the Pacific Ocean in the east.

Taiwan's area is 35,980 km² (13,892 sq mi) of which 32,260 km² (12,456 sq mi) is land and 3,720 km² (1,436 sq mi) is territorial water claims, making it slightly smaller than the combined area of Maryland and Delaware, or slightly bigger than territory of Belgium. It is 394 km (245 mi) long and 144 km (89 mi) wide. It has a coastline of 1,566.3 km (973.3 mi). The ROC claims an exclusive economic zone of 200 nmi (370.4 km; 230.2 mi) and a territorial sea of 12 nmi (22.2 km; 13.8 mi).

Terrain

Main article: Geography of Taiwan

The terrain in Taiwan is divided into two parts: the flat to gently rolling plains in the west, where 90% of the population lives, and the mostly rugged forest-covered mountains in the eastern two-thirds.

The eastern part of the island is dominated by five mountain ranges, each running from north-northeast to south-southwest, roughly parallel to the east coast of the island. As a group, they extend 330 kilometres (210 mi) from north to south and average about 80 kilometres (50 mi) from east to west. They include more than two hundred peaks with elevations of over 3,000 m (9,843 ft).

A relief map of Taiwan.

Geology

Taiwan lies on the western edge of the Philippine Plate

Main article: Geology of Taiwan

The island of Taiwan was formed approximately 4 to 5 million years ago at a complex convergent boundary between the Philippine Sea Plate and the Eurasian Plate. In a boundary running the length of the island and continuing southwards in the Luzon Volcanic Arc (including Green Island and Orchid Island), the Eurasian Plate is sliding under the Philippine Sea Plate. The western part of the island, and much of the central range, consists of sedimentary deposits scraped from the descending edge of the Eurasian Plate. In the northeast of the island, and continuing eastwards in the Ryukyu Volcanic Arc, the Philippine Sea Plate slides under the Eurasian Plate.

The tectonic boundary remains active, and Taiwan experiences 15,000 to 18,000 earthquakes each year, of which 800 to 1,000 are noticed by people. The most catastrophic recent earthquake was the magnitude-7.3 Chi-Chi earthquake, which occurred in the center of Taiwan on September 21, 1999, killing more than 2,400 people. On 4 March 2010 at about 01:20 UTC, a magnitude 6.4 earthquake hit southern Taiwan.

Climate

The climate on the island is generally marine and varies widely by season in the Northern part and the mountain areas. The South, however, belongs to the tropical belt and is warm and humid all year. From May to June it's rainy season, with almost daily showers. From July to October typhoons are most likely to strike, on average about four direct hits per year. In the northern part of Taiwan, cloudiness is persistent and extensive during the year; in the south, however, the rainy days are always in the summertime, and 90% of the annual precipitation falls during this period. The annual rainfall is usually more than 2,500 mm (98.4 in), close to 5,000 mm (196.9 in) in some Eastern regions.

Intensive rain from typhoons often leads to disastrous mudslides.

• 
  Bracing on the side of a mountain in Chiayi County prevents landslides caused by typhoons.
• 
  Natural-colour satellite image of landslide scarred mountains in central Taiwan.
• 
  Shiukuluan River in Hualien County

Flora and fauna

See also: Endemic species of Taiwan and List of national parks in Taiwan

Formosan Serow

The western mountain forests are very diverse, with several endemic species such as Formosan Cypress (Chamaecyparis formosensis) and Taiwan Fir (Abies kawakamii), while the Camphor Laurel (Cinnamomum camphora) was once also widespread at lower levels (now mostly cleared for agricultural land). Prior to major Taiwanese economic success, the mountainous areas held several endemic animal species and subspecies, such as the Swinhoe's Pheasant (Lophura swinhoii), Taiwan blue magpie (Urocissa caerulea), Formosan Black Bear (Selanarctos thibetanus formosanus), the Formosan Sika Deer (Cervus nippon taiwanensis or Cervus nippon taiouanus) and the Formosan landlocked salmon (Oncorhynchus masou formosanus). A few of these are now extinct, and many others have been designated endangered species.

Seven national parks in Taiwan showcase the diverse terrain, flora and fauna of the archipelago. Kenting National Park on the southern tip of Taiwan contains uplifted coral reefs, moist tropical forest and marine ecosystems. Yushan National Park has alpine terrain, mountain ecology, forest types that vary with altitude, and remains of ancient road. Yangmingshan National Park has volcanic geology, hot springs, waterfalls, and forest. Taroko National Park has marble canyon, cliff, and fold mountains. Shei-Pa National Park has alpine ecosystems, geological terrain, and valley streams. Kinmen National Park has lakes, wetlands, coastal topography, flora and fauna-shaped island. Dongsha Marine National Park has the Pratas reef atolls for integrity, a unique marine ecology, biodiversity, and is a key habitat for the marine resources of the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait.

Taiwan is a center of bird endemism; see Endemic birds of Taiwan for further information.

Natural resources

Natural resources on the islands include small deposits of gold, copper, coal, natural gas, limestone, marble, and asbestos. The island is 55% forests and woodland (mostly on the mountains) and 24% arable land (mostly on the plains), with 15% going to other purposes. 5% is permanent pastures and 1% is permanent crops.

Because of the intensive exploitation throughout Taiwan's pre-modern and modern history, the island's mineral resources (e.g. coal, gold, marble), as well as wild animal reserves (e.g. deer), have been virtually exhausted. Moreover, much of its forestry resources, especially firs were harvested during Japanese rule for the construction of shrines and have only recovered slightly since then. To this day, forests do not contribute to significant timber production mainly because of concerns about production costs and environmental regulations.

Camphor extraction and sugarcane refining played an important role in Taiwan's exportation from the late 19th century through the first half of the 20th century. The importance of the above industries subsequently declined not because of the exhaustion of related natural resources but mainly of the decline of international market demands.

Nowadays, few natural resources with significant economic value are retained in Taiwan, which are essentially agriculture-associated. Domestic agriculture (rice being the dominant kind of crop) and fisheries retain importance to a certain degree, but they have been greatly challenged by foreign imports since Taiwan's accession to the World Trade Organization in 2001. Consequently, upon the decline of subsistent importance, Taiwan's agriculture now relies heavily on the marketing and exportation of certain kinds of specialty fruits, such as banana, guava, lychee, wax apple, and high-mountain tea.

Energy resources

See also: Energy in Taiwan

Wind power in Taichung

Taiwan has significant coal deposits and some insignificant petroleum and natural gas deposits. As of 2010, oil accounts for 49.0% of the total energy consumption. Coal comes next with 32.1%, followed by nuclear energy with 8.3%, natural gas (indigenous and liquefied) with 10.2%, and energy from renewable sources with 0.5%. Taiwan has six nuclear reactors and two under construction. Nearly all oil and gas for transportation and power needs must be imported, making Taiwan particularly sensitive to fluctuations in energy prices. Taiwan is rich in wind energy resources, with wind farms both onshore and offshore, though limited land area favors offshore wind resources. By promoting renewable energy, Taiwan's government hopes to also aid the nascent renewable energy manufacturing industry, and develop it into an export market.

Environmental issues

Scooters are a very common means of transportation in Taiwan and contribute to urban air pollution.

With its high population density and many factories, some areas in Taiwan suffer from heavy pollution. Most notable are the southern suburbs of Taipei and the western stretch from Tainan to Lin Yuan, south of Kaohsiung. In the past, Taipei suffered from extensive vehicle and factory air pollution, but with mandatory use of unleaded petrol and the establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency, the air quality of Taiwan has improved dramatically. Motor scooters, especially older or cheaper two-stroke versions, which are ubiquitous in Taiwan, also contribute disproportionately to urban air pollution.

Other current environmental issues include water pollution from industrial emissions and raw sewage, contamination of drinking water supplies, and trade in endangered species. Though regulation of sulfate aerosol emissions from petroleum production is becoming stringent, acid rain remains to be a threat to the health of the residents and the forests. Scholars in Taiwan point out that more than half of its acid rain is actually brought by monsoon rains from mainland China.

See also

• Geography of Taiwan
• List of mountains of Taiwan
• List of rivers of Taiwan
• List of volcanoes in Taiwan
• List of islands of the Republic of China
• Taiwanese hot springs
• List of metropolitan areas in Taiwan

External links

• Taiwan Yearbook 2006 -- Geography
• National Parks of Taiwan
• Clip that introduces Taiwan National Parks
• Taiwan datums