Guishan Island / Gueishan Island or Steep Island or Turtle Island (), also known as Kweishan Island or Kweishan Tao, is an

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

in the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

, part of

Toucheng Township Toucheng Township () is an urban Township (Taiwan), township in Yilan County, Taiwan, Yilan County, Taiwan. The township includes Guishan Island (Yilan), Guishan Island and Guiluan Island in the Philippine Sea. The Senkaku Islands, known in Manda ...

, Yilan County,

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

and located east of port of Kengfang Fishery Harbor. The island's name is derived from the resemblance of the topography of the island to that of a turtle. There is a smaller island south of Gueishan Island called Gueiluan Island) (Kweiluan Tao, Kiran-to; , ). The island is a

dormant volcano A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates a ...

that last erupted on 1785.

History

The local population, consisting mainly of fishermen, was relocated in 1977 due to the hardships associated with living on the island. Between 1977 and 2000 it became the site of a military base, and currently it is managed as a tourist destination and natural conservation area. There are restrictions for visitors due to environmental protection. In 2000, the island was officially opened to tourists as a maritime ecological park. On May 13, 2016, President

Ma Ying-jeou Ma Ying-jeou ( zh, 馬英九, born 13 July 1950) is a Hong Kong-born Taiwanese politician who served as president of the Republic of China from 2008 to 2016. Previously, he served as justice minister from 1993 to 1996 and mayor of Taipei from ...

visited the island. In December 2016 until February 2017, the island was closed for environmental protection reasons.

Geology

The island is the top of an

andesite Andesite () is a volcanic rock of intermediate composition. In a general sense, it is the intermediate type between silica-poor basalt and silica-rich rhyolite. It is fine-grained (aphanitic) to porphyritic in texture, and is composed predomi ...

stratovolcano A stratovolcano, also known as a composite volcano, is a conical volcano built up by many layers (strata) of hardened lava and tephra. Unlike shield volcanoes, stratovolcanoes are characterized by a steep profile with a summit crater and per ...

which rises from the seafloor. It is the only

active volcano An active volcano is a volcano which is either erupting or is likely to erupt in the future. An active volcano which is not currently erupting is known as a dormant volcano. Overview Tlocene Epoch. Most volcanoes are situated on the Pacific Ri ...

in Taiwan, displaying active

fumarole A fumarole (or fumerole) is a vent in the surface of the Earth or other rocky planet from which hot volcanic gases and vapors are emitted, without any accompanying liquids or solids. Fumaroles are characteristic of the late stages of volcani ...

s and

solfatara A fumarole (or fumerole) is a vent in the surface of the Earth or other rocky planet from which hot volcanic gases and vapors are emitted, without any accompanying liquids or solids. Fumaroles are characteristic of the late stages of volcani ...

s. It has an area of , and the highest point reaches above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardised g ...

Ecology

Endemic species of crab, ''

Xenograpsus testudinatus ''Xenograpsus'' is a genus of crustaceans belonging to the monotypic family Xenograpsidae. The species of this genus are found in Southeastern Asia and New Zealand. Species: *''Xenograpsus ngatama'' *''Xenograpsus novaeinsularis ''Xenograpsu ...

'' feeds on sulfur and lives around underwater hot springs of the island. Surrounding waters support rich ecosystem that attracts the top predators of ocean;

cetacean Cetacea (; , ) is an infraorder of aquatic mammals that includes whales, dolphins, and porpoises. Key characteristics are their fully aquatic lifestyle, streamlined body shape, often large size and exclusively carnivorous diet. They propel them ...

s. This allows

whale watching Whale watching is the practice of observing whales and dolphins ( cetaceans) in their natural habitat. Whale watching is mostly a recreational activity (cf. birdwatching), but it can also serve scientific and/or educational purposes.Hoyt, E. 2 ...

as one of major attractions in local tourism, targeting mostly smaller toothed whales such as

pygmy sperm whale The pygmy sperm whale (''Kogia breviceps'') is one of two extant species in the family Kogiidae in the sperm whale superfamily. They are not often sighted at sea, and most of what is known about them comes from the examination of stranded speci ...

false killer whale The false killer whale (''Pseudorca crassidens'') is a species of oceanic dolphin that is the only extant representative of the genus ''Pseudorca''. It is found in oceans worldwide but mainly in tropical regions. It was first described in 1846 ...

s, and dolphins while larger whales such as

sperm whales The sperm whale or cachalot (''Physeter macrocephalus'') is the largest of the toothed whales and the largest toothed predator. It is the only living member of the Genus (biology), genus ''Physeter'' and one of three extant species in the s ...

and humpback may be observed less frequently.ba ha. 2014
2014.12.24 龜山島船釣 ~ 遇到鯨魚

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

. Retrieved on October 06, 2017

Head Turning of the Turtle Mountain

From different views at different locations of Yilan County, the shape of Gueishan Island is quite different. Also the shape of the turtle's head is different; from Northeast Coastal Areas of

such as Shihcheng and Dasi, the shape is close to the head of a

turtle Turtles are an order of reptiles known as Testudines, characterized by a special shell developed mainly from their ribs. Modern turtles are divided into two major groups, the Pleurodira (side necked turtles) and Cryptodira (hidden necked tu ...

, while from

Luodong Luodong Township () is an urban township in the central part of Yilan County, Taiwan. Luodong is the smallest township in the county. Naming Its name and former name () derive from the Kavalan word '' rutung'', meaning " monkey", referring to a ...

and Wujie Townships, the shape is

triangular A triangle is a polygon with three edges and three vertices. It is one of the basic shapes in geometry. A triangle with vertices ''A'', ''B'', and ''C'' is denoted \triangle ABC. In Euclidean geometry, any three points, when non- collinea ...

. The reason for this is the curvy shape of the seashore of Yilan, circling the very island. There is hence the term "Head Turning of the Turtle Mountain" (龜山轉頭).

Visiting the island

Before going to the island, visitor numbers have to be reviewed to see which day is available for registration. The application must be completed and shipping agreed with local

ferry A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water taxi ...

owners at least one week prior to the visiting date, there is also another application form for going to the highest point of the island, which is often restricted.

References

External links

National Northeast Coastal Scenic Area -- Gueishan Island
{{Authority control Islands of Taiwan Volcanoes of Taiwan Holocene stratovolcanoes Landforms of Yilan County, Taiwan Protected areas of Taiwan Tourist attractions in Yilan County, Taiwan