Taiwan is a mountainous island. Dominated by the Central Range, several mountain systems stretch from north to south. Sky-reaching peaks dot the central area. Half of the island lies at an altitude above 1,600 feet. Mountains have played no less a role than the ocean in influencing Taiwan history and development.
The Central Range runs from one tip of the tobacco leaf-shaped island to the other, dividing the land into distinct geographical divisions of east and west. The Yushan and Alishan Range of the west parallel the Central Range. The Shuehshan Range in the north is an extension of the Central Range, and the East Coast Range provides another parallel system as it towers above the blue Pacific.
Highly unstable and easily disintegrated, the mountains of Taiwan are mostly of such sedimentary rocks as sandstones, sandy shales, fissile slates, sandstone shales and some partly metamorphosed limestones. Erosion resulting in landslides, rockfalls and mudflows is common on steep slopes and in deep, narrow stream valleys. Heavy silting and flash floods are frequent and widespread in the broad lowlands. They are often aggravated by earthquakes, typhoons, rain and thunderstorms common in this subtropical area.
Taiwan's mountains are not only high—peaks of nearly 13,000 feet—but precipitous. Geology has produced both pointed and horseback shapes with imposing gorges and sheer cliffs.
Most of the rivers originate in the Central Range and flow eastward or westward. Because of the steep terrain and the narrow waist of the island, streams rush down from the mountains in a torrent. Ordinarily, the volume is small. But during the typhoon season, when rain may fall at a rate of several inches an hour, rivers become raging floods that may inundate the plains for miles around. At least some flooding is inevitable each year.
Subtropical island has heavy snowfall in the mountain during winter season(Top left). Drops are sheer and crags razor-edged in ranges that are rugged, spectacular(Bottom left). Topping 13,000 feet, Mt. Morrison of Yushan range is the island's highest (Top right). Mt. Tapachien is sentinel of 10,266 feet guarding thc Shuchshan range in the north (Bottom right). (File photo)
Below the towering mountains and traversed by the fast-flowing streams are tablelands, valleys, basins, and plains that make up the fertile farm lands. The level plains, where rice and sugar cane grow lushly, account for 22.7 percent of the island's total land area. Yet rice is grown in surplus and sugar is the biggest foreign exchange earner (sugar exports last year exceeded US$100 million) and the backbone of the economy.
Taiwan's coastline is relatively uncomplicated and thus is lacking in good natural harbors. Sand, gravel, and rocks have been carried to sea by the rushing rivers. Coastal areas are made shallow and unsuited to navigation.
Varied Effects
Topography of the mountain system on Taiwan has had a number of cultural and economic effects:
* Because the mountain ranges run from north to south and are laid side by side, they block east-west transportation and communications. Construction of the East-West Cross-Island Highway recently has begun to have some effect in development of the east coast economy.
* Cities and population are concentrated in the plains and basins of the west. The mountains drop off precipitously in the east and leave inadequate level areas for population expansion.
* The mountain ranges hinder the monsoon air currents and catch enormous amounts of moisture in the form of rainfall, averaging more than 2,500 millimeters annually over an area of more than 10,000 kilometers. With proper vegetative cover, these highlands can provide a dependable supply of water for hydro-electric power and irrigation, domestic and industrial uses. Power from fast-moving streams makes up nearly 70 per cent of the island's total.
* By blocking the seasonal northeasterly winds, the mountains provide a dry winter in the southwestern plains where sugar cane and other field crops require dryness for concentration of sugar and maturation of seeds.
* Every change in the land conditions of the high mountainous areas affects land use somewhere below. This is true for each of the major watersheds on the island. As the gradient of streams is steepened by the uplifting of mountains, more and more rock debris and dislocated gravel, silt, and sand are flushed downhill by torrential rains and '" runoff water and deposited on previously productive lowlands. Every year heavy damage is done to hundreds of hectares of farms and villages, miles and miles of railroads, highway, irrigation canals, and to other public and private property. Costly temporary repairs have to be made.
* Forest covers more than half the island. As a result of varying elevations, trees of tropic, sub-tropic, temperate, and arctic zones are distributed in a vertical arrangement. Timber is an important and largely unexploited natural resource. Without forest cover, the mountains would be vulnerable to the destructive erosive forces of the rains so heavily concentrated in these highland areas.
* The mountains offer small deposits of gold, copper, manganese, sulphur, pyrites, mica, asbestos, and some gas and petroleum. Tea, tangerines, bananas and pineapple come from upland farms.
Central Range
The Central Range runs in an arc from Suao in the north to Olanpi at the southern tip and makes up almost half the island's total area. It is about 200 miles long and has 28 high peaks that top 10,000 feet. Eleven peaks of branch ranges also exceed that elevation. Mt. Hsu-ku-luan, 12,468 feet, is the highest peak of the Central Range.
Mt. Sylvia at 12,972 feet is the second highest peak in Taiwan. (File photo)
Rivers originating in the Central Range are very short in the east, and considerably longer in the west. In the east, there is a famous "fault shoreline" running from Suao to the newly opened international port of Hualien. The fault scarp is high and almost vertical. The Suao-Hualien Highway, about 75 miles long and linking northern and eastern Taiwan, was laboriously carved out of the waist of the cliff.
Geologically, the Central Range is mostly composed of slate, schist, gneiss, granites, intrusive igneous rocks, and other formations resistant to weathering and erosion. With summits of between 10,000 and 12,648 feet, passes are high. Few are at less than 8,200 feet. Relief is extreme. With their heavy forests and sheer walls, some of these mountains are virtually impenetrable.
The East-West Cross-Island Highway starts from the Taichung plain in western Taiwan and reaches the international port of Hualien in eastern Taiwan. It is 115 miles long and has two branches totaling 155 miles. Construction began in 1956 and was completed in 1960. The highway is accelerating economic development of eastern Taiwan, advancing the cultural interflow between eastern and western Taiwan, and promoting tourism.
A road that claimed some 200 lives in the construction period, it winds around, climbs over, and bores through these mighty mountains. Scenery is spectacular. Temperatures, flora, and fauna change rapidly as the highway rises to within the shadow of the peaks, then plunges back toward sea level.
Most of the soils in the high mountain area traversed by the highway are shallow and infertile. Few of them would support cultivated crops and they carry only a scant cover of native vegetation. On the other hand, there are a few areas here and there that are suitable for cultivation or for grazing. Most of these already have been found and settled.
Mt. Morrison
The Yushan Range runs from a little north of the center of the island toward the southwest coast. Length exceeds 155 miles. Principal peak is Mt. Morrison at 13,035 feet, the island's highest. Around it are four subordinate peaks; together, the five are described as "Five Peaks Paying Homage to Heaven." Climate at the foot of Mt. Morrison is tropical. Forest is abundant. At 10,000 feet, some of the trees are more than 1,000 years old.
Snowfall usually begins in October and the period of frost lasts about seven months. From a distance, snow-capped Mt. Morrison resembles a magnificent piece of white jade: thus the Chinese name "Yushan" or Jade Mountain. Snow may be found in some crevasses the year round.
Mt. Sylvia at 12,972 feet is the "queen peak" of the island and dominates the Shuehshan Range, which runs northeast from near the center of the island. According to a Japanese geographer, Tadao Shikano, who surveyed the mountains of Taiwan, the Shuehshan Range has more than 10 peaks exceeding 11,000 feet and some 40 peaks at about 10,000 feet.
The Alishan Range of western Taiwan runs from south to north and provides a foothill arrangement for its higher neighbors. The northern section is broken up into solitary mountains or mountain groups. Height varies from 4,000 to 9,000 feet.
Mt. Ali, 9,240 feet and the principal peak of the Alishan Range, is famous for its scenery and is also a center of the logging industry. A narrow-gauge mountain railroad and a highway both ascend the mountain.
There are many spectacular precipices. In the southwest is Farewell Precipice. One false step from the trail paralleling it would plunge the mountaineer straight down into the valley below. Before the East-West Highway was built, there was a Good-Morning Cliff along the route. Rocks and debris were cleared away in the evening; mountain dwellers had to get going early the next morning before new landslides blocked their way.
Steep slopes abound. On the southern tip of the island is a Divorce Slope that received its name during the Japanese occupation. A Japanese policeman went to Japan, married, and brought his bride to Taiwan. On their way to his mountain police station, they had to climb a steep slope that was a three-hour journey for an experienced mountaineer. Half way up, panting, and with tears in her eyes, the bride looked at her husband and said: "I would rather divorce you than go on." The dutiful but inconsiderate policeman went on up and she went down—and returned to Japan.
The Tatun mountain area in the northernmost part of the island is of volcanic origin. Lava once poured from craters that now stand as conical notches at around 3,300 feet. The area is dotted with hot springs and fumaroles and has 11 volcanic peaks, one of which is Yangmingshan, a scenic spot in northern Taiwan.
The East Coast Range consists chiefly of Miocene and Pliocene sandstones and shales. Although the highest peak reaches 3,300 feet, the range seems like a collection of hills. Small streams have developed on the flanks, but there is only one large river. Badlands topography has developed at the western foot of the range, where the ground water level is lowest and the rock formations the least resistant to weathering. The evidence of raised coral reefs along the east coast and frequent earthquakes in the rift valley indicate that the bloc is still rising.
Heavy Forests
Adjacent to the Central Range is a narrow zone of foothills at elevation of from 330 to 1,640 feet. They are connected with the Central Range and linked with terrace tablelands in continuous slopes. Foothills have no system of ranges, no fixed direction, and no ridges of continuity. Low hills and gentle slopes are the rule and longitudinal valleys interspersed with transverse gullies are characteristic.
From the foothills, the terrain descends to the terrace tablelands, which are composed entirely of gravel. The sandstone gravel deposits represent an accumulation of eroded material washed down from higher areas. These gravel beds may have been deposited near the sea and then raised by recent tilting.
Forests are estimated to cover 55 per cent of the land area. Because of the ruggedness of the mountains, much of this rich timber resource remains inaccessible. Even so, growth of the lumber industry has been remarkable. The US$10 million worth of timber and wood products exported in 1961 exceeded the 1954 total by 25 times. Annual timber production is 180,000 cubic meters of round logs and a small quantity of mountain-hewn lumber. There are 650 sawmills, 644 of them privately owned.
Road Program
Due to the geographic location of Taiwan and the extreme climatic variations of the island, forest species are numerous. Of the 200 commercially recognized species, broadleaved species number 154, coniferous species 20, and exotic species 26. Among the most useful are yellow cypress, red cypress, spruce, fir, pine, Chinese hemlock, large leaved machilus, long leaved evergreen chinkapin, purple oak, camphor, Chinese guger, and bamboo.
According to a survey, more than 30 per cent of forest land is inaccessible. To reduce this figure, the Taiwan Provincial Government is carrying out a 20-year mountain road development project.
Other mountain resources include coal, which is found in the Mt. Ali area; petroleum and natural gas deposits in several locations; sulphur in the volcanic area of northern Taiwan; marble in the eastern mountains; and gold and copper also near the northeastern tip of the island.
The most numerous and interesting human resource of the mountains is an aboriginal people numbering some 210,000. Believed to be of Malay stock, they are classified in nine tribes and now are guaranteed a livelihood from lands the government has reserved for them.
Olympic Champion
Once the mountain people were head hunters. Courageous and with strong views and folk customs, they resisted the Japanese occupation for 50 years. Japanese authorities responded with ruthless repressions.
Taiwan's earliest known settlers still me noted for their physical prowess. Among them is C. K. Yang, the "Iron Man of Asia" and holder of the world's decathlon record. He was second in the Rome Olympics and is strongly favored for the gold medal at Tokyo in October, although he is 32 years old.
Thirty aborigine towns and 198 villages were enumerated in the last count some linked to the outside world only by trail. Nevertheless, each town has a clinic and each village a dispensary. More than 25 aborigines have completed training at Kaohsiung Medical College and are serving in the mountain fastnesses.
Not surprisingly, mountaineering is a popular sport. Several clubs exist. The oldest is the Taiwan Climbers Association, organized in 1926. It has 2,400 members, including 325 females ,and 25 foreigners.
Mt. Morrison naturally is the cherished goal of climbers. In 1930, French Ambassador to Japan Count de Billey came from Tokyo to make the ascent. Two Japanese princes made it to the top two years earlier.
Plentiful supply of peaks has led to popularity of mountaineering. (File photo)
Tourist Attraction
Taiwan's high mountains are popular with both Korean and Japanese alpinists. Slopes and rock walls test the hardiest and most adventuresome. The climate may be treacherous. Half a century ago, 30 Japanese mountaineers were frozen to death on Mt. Hohuan in a blizzard. A ski lift now reaches the 10,000-foot level of that peak, and skiing is a sport of rapidly growing popularity.
Mountains play an increasing role in Taiwan tourism, which is expected to draw 110,000 visitors this year. Many of the most beautiful scenic attractions are in the mountains, including lovely Sun Moon Lake at an elevation of 2,500 feet in central Taiwan. Known as the Shangrila of Taiwan, it has water, forests, temples, aborigines—and the most modern accommodations.
The East-West Highway also is traveled by more and more tourists. The most breathtaking spot is Taroko Gorge at the eastern end of the highway and therefore easily accessible by plane to Hualien and a short drive from there. Taroko has 32 tunnels, a number of suspension bridges, skyscraping vertical cliffs, and a whitecapped stream in the gorge below. Waterfalls and bubbling springs are everywhere. Only a little more than an hour from Taipei by plane and bus or car, this is another world—and an integral part of Taiwan's mountain system.
Also popular with visitors are the Suao-Hualien Highway, carved out of the cliffs overlooking the Pacific, and Mt. Ali, which has an almost perpetual sea of clouds and its myriads of springtime cherry blossoms. A railway reaches the 9,240-foot level of that mountain.
A few minutes from Taipei is Yangmingshan Park, which has its own cherry blossoms in the spring and a natural beauty in any season. High above the plains, it is an irresistible picnicking place in the long hot summer.
Hundreds of years ago, Portuguese navigators looked from the gentle, rolling surf to the snow-capped peaks of a sizable island they were passing. "Ilha Formosa" they exclaimed—"beautiful island"—and so it is. The mountain ranges of Taiwan play no small part in justifying the name.