Another Reason to Travel Penghu! Penghu’s Basalt Rock Formations and Unique Geological Terrain
The Penghu Islands are well known for their unique geological terrain. The southeast part of the Penghu archipelago encompasses a number of small islands that boast these unique rock formations which form the Penghu Columnar Basalt Nature Preserve.
Several islands, Tongpan, Dinggou and Jishan, are famous for having miles of magnificent geological coastline featuring columns of basalt rock formations which were formed millions of years ago by volcanic eruptions which pushed basaltic lave up into the ocean to harden and form basalt islands in the sea.
Basalt rock formations are not that unusual in the world. Famous sites include the Columbia River Plateau in the US, the Emei Mountain in China, and the Deccan Plateau in northwest India. On the other hand, Penghu’s islands are unusual because it is rare to see basalt formations spread across the sea like the islands of Penghu.
The best way to see these rock formations is from the water. Tongpan Island has the most spectacular display of columnar basalt in all of Penghu with columns reaching up to 30 meters in the air. It is considered to be one of Taiwan’s top ten natural wonders. Luckily, Penghu has a large number of tourist boats that take visitors right by these incredible natural rock walls.
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Wow, that looks like some forbidden island in a Bond movie, pretty cool. There’s also the Giant’s Staircase in Northern Ireland, one of the more famous examples of basalt columns around.
Mind, the weather at the Penghu Islands is pretty certain to be MUCH better!
What a great post. Such a cool place to visit. I know every year lots of visitors travel this cool place. Again thanks for this informative share on this great site.
Thank you! I’m glad you like it!
Hi, Carrie , You are on the newspaper in Taiwan , so I can Google your website here.
I really appreciate your webpages ,so clear and easy to search the topics. That’s a good model for me.
I’m saying that Kaohisung city is also not so far from PengHu ( it’s around 40-50 minutes by plane). I live in the city , but I know not so many foreigners heard of this beautiful city ( most of you just know Taipei) . So may I suggest you post more topics about the city , if you need some help , maybe I could be your helper.
I also found most of the tour websites set up by local people in Taiwan don’t have English version , so I deeply believe many tourists or backpackers would miss a lot of great scenery~~ There is no exception for the city .
So , hope to see your story of the city.
Hi David,
I’m so sorry for answering your comment so late. I didn’t see it in my message column until today. I am touched that you would think to visit my site after reading about me in the Liberty Times. Thank you for taking the time to stop by and introduce yourself.
Penghu is one of my favorite places to visit in Taiwan. I generally go there in late August or early September each year. I need to learn more about Kaohsiung though. I’ve only been a few times and there is so much to explore. It’s hard to know where to start. I would certainly welcome any suggestions you have!
Best,
Carrie