Taiwan's Geography: Mountains, Monsoons & a Subtropical Jewel

Taiwan straddles the Tropic of Cancer—a 36,193 km² island (≈Maryland size) where 70% is mountains, yet 23.5M people thrive in coastal plains.

Physical Geography

• Peaks: Yushan (Jade Mountain) 3,952 m — NE Asia's highest. 268 peaks >3,000 m.
• Ranges: Central Mountain Range (spine), Snow Mountain Range, Alishan, Coastal Range.
• Rivers: Short, steep, flash-flood prone. Zhuoshui (longest, 186 km), Gaoping, Tamsui (Taipei basin).
• Lakes: Sun Moon Lake (hydro/tourism), Liyu, Chengqing.
• Coastline: 1,566 km—west: flat, populous, industrial; east: dramatic cliffs, marine parks.
• Offshore: Penghu (basalt), Kinmen (2 km from Xiamen), Matsu, Green Island, Orchid Island.

Climate & Ecology

• Subtropical north / Tropical south.
• Typhoons: 3–4 direct hits/yr (Jul–Oct).
• Forests: 60% cover—broadleaf, coniferous, cycad, alpine zones. High endemism (Formosan black bear, Mikado pheasant).
• Seismic: Philippine Sea Plate subduction → frequent quakes; 1999 Chi-Chi (M7.7) transformed building codes.

Human Geography

• Metro clusters: Taipei–Keelung–Taoyuan (9M), Taichung–Changhua (3M), Kaohsiung–Pingtung (3M), Tainan (2M).
• Indigenous peoples (2.4%): 16 recognized groups, mostly mountain/east coast.

Taiwan packs continent-scale diversity into an island you can drive around in 12 hours.