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Serving
Students at
Santa Ana
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Santiago
Canyon College
TAIWAN
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Geography
Taiwan
is situated in the Pacific Ocean about 160 kilometers (100 miles) off the
southeastern coast of the Chinese mainland. It is located about midway
between Korea and Japan to the north and Hong Kong and the Philippines
to the south. The island is bisected by the Tropic of Cancer which
makes the northern part of Taiwan subtropical with hot summers and cool
winters and the southern areas close to the balmy tropics. Taiwan
is a natural gateway for travelers to Asia.
Taiwan
is a relatively small country but is quite diversified. Its easy
to drive from Keelung in the north to the southernmost tip in a day but
you would not want to do it that quickly because in between there is the
lofty central mountain range, alpine forests, waterfalls and long stretches
of coastline. Taiwan and the adjacent islands are about the size
of West Virginia and have an area of approximately 36,000 square kilometers
(14,000 square miles). The main island of Taiwan, slightly smaller
than the Netherlands, is about 394 kilometers (245 miles) long and 144
kilometers (89 miles) at its broadest point. The highest point on
Taiwan is Mount Jade, towering 3,952 meters (12,966 feet) above sea level.
An estimated 30 percent of the island is arable.
Taiwan
(China) is the main island of a group of 78 islands. It is dominated
by the Central Mountain Range covering 75% of its land area and running
its full length north to south on the eastern seaboard. Over 100
peaks exceed 3000m (9850ft), the highest being Yu Shan (Jade Mountain)
at 3952m (13,041.6ft), and most are heavily forested. The Central
Range, with a length of 270 kilometers (168 miles) from north to south,
and a width of about 80 kilometers (50 miles) near the middle, forms the
island's backbone and occupies almost half of its total land area.
Taiwan is divided by the central mountain range that runs from north to
south, rising sharply on the east coast and descending gradually to a broad
western plain, where cultivation is concentrated. Other important
physiographic divisions include dormant volcanic mountains, foothills,
tablelands, terraces, coastal plains and basins. About 25% of the
country is alluvial plain, most of it on the coastal strip. The Pescadores
(Fisherman's Isles), which the Chinese call Penghu, comprise 64 islands
west of Taiwan (China) with a total area of 127 sq km (49 sq miles).
The offshore island fortress of Quemoy (Kinmen) and Matsu, form part of
the mainland province of Fukien.
Taiwan's
capital city is Taipei (pop. 2.6 million); other large cities are Kaohsiung
(1.4 million) and Taichung (910,000)(1997).
Natural
resources include small deposits of coal, natural gas, limestone, marble,
and asbestos.
Map
Links
for More Information
CIA
World Factbook: Taiwan Geography More
About Geography
Climate
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