Taiwan: The Beautiful Island

This article by Keith Barnes shares his expertise with us to highlight some of the wonderful birding locations (and birds) of his adoptive country. The photos are stunning and alone worth flipping through!

Taiwan’s unique beauty is born from the fact that it has a high density of tall mountain peaks in a relatively small area, practically jutting out of the sea. There are some 160 peaks taller than 10,000 ft. (3048m), including the island’s highest peak, Jade Mountain (12,966 ft./3952m). While the Himalayas, Andes, and Rockies all boast taller peaks, Taiwan is tiny, only 13,800 mi.2 (35742km2 ); some 250 mi. (402km) long and around 90 mi. (145km) wide at its broadest point. It is a tilted fault block formed by the action of tectonic plates on the eastern edge of the Asian shelf, the so-called Pacific “Ring of Fire”, and was thrust from the ocean floor. This dramatic uplift has given it some of the most remarkable topography on Earth.