Taiwan's mountain ranges

Taiwan's five longitudinal mountain ranges occupy almost half of the island. As a group, they extend 330 km from north to south and average about 80 km from east to west. They include more than two hundred peaks with elevations of over 3,000 meters.

The Central Range extends from Suao in the north to Oluanpi in the south, forming a ridge of high mountains and serving as the island's major watershed for rivers and streams. The range is predominantly composed of hard rock formations resistant to weathering and erosion, although heavy rainfall has deeply scarred the sides with gorges and sharp valleys. The relative relief of the terrain is usually extensive, and the forest-clad mountains with their extreme ruggedness are almost impenetrable. The east side of the Central Range is the steepest mountain slope in Taiwan, with fault scarps ranging in height from 120 to 1,200 meters.

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The Snow Mountain Range lies northwest of the Central Range, beginning at Santiao Chiao in the northeast and gaining elevation as it extends toward the southwest. Snow Mountain, the main peak, is 3,884 meters high.

The Jade Mountain Range runs along the southwestern flank of the Central Range. It includes the island's tallest peak, the 3,952-meter Yushan (Jade Mountain).

The Alishan (Ali Mountain) lies west of the Jade Mountain Range, with major elevations between 1,000 and 2,000 meters. The main peak, Mount Ta sits at 2,484 meters.

The East Coastal Range extends from the mouth of the Hualien River in the north to Taitung County in the south, and chiefly consists of sandstone and shale. Although Mount Hsinkang, the highest peak, reaches an elevation of 1,682 meters, most of the range is composed of large hills. Small streams have developed on the flanks, but only one large river cuts across the range. Badlands are located at the western foot of the range, where the ground water level is the lowest and rock formations the least resistant to weathering. Raised coral reefs along the east coast and the frequent occurrences of earthquakes in the rift valley indicate that the fault block is still rising.

Other mountains/hills.

Although igneous rocks are not commonly found in Taiwan, smaller outcroppings of extrusive bodies are scattered over the island, representing at least five periods of igneous activity. The Tatun mountain area is a prominent group of volcanic peaks, lying at the promontory between Keelung Port and the Tamsui River overlooking the Taipei metropolitan area. The entire area is covered by lava that poured out of the volcanic craters which now stand as conical notches of over 1,000 meters. The area is unique for its hot springs and fumaroles.

The foothills are found in a narrow zone surrounding the Central Range. This zone, with an elevation of from 100 to 500 meters, is connected with the Central Range and linked with the tablelands in continuous slopes. Low hills with gentle slopes and longitudinal valleys woven with transverse gullies are characteristic topographic features of this zone, as are broad escarpments and short hogbacks formed on fault scarps or along rock formations.

Along the Central Range, the Keelung-Miaoli foothills and those extending from Chiayi to Pingtung are the broadest. The Keelung-Miaoli foothills start from the coast at Keelung and end at south of Miaoli. The Chiayi foothills rise below Mount Ali, with their northern border on the Choshui River and the southern border between Kaohsiung and Pingtung. There is a shallow-faulted region between these foothills and the Fengyuan foothills, extending from Fengyuan, just north of Taichung, to Nantou, some distance to the south. This is the widest section of western foothills in Taiwan. It is intersected by three rivers: the Tachia, Tatu, and Choshui. Included in this region is the Sun Moon Lake Basin, which lies about 765 meters above sea level and forms a graben basin. At the southern flank of the Central Range are the Hengchun foothills that occupy most of the Hengchun Peninsula. The topography is down-graded on the eastern and western sides.