Jiujiufeng ( zh, t=九九峰, p=Jiǔjiǔfēng, l=ninety-nine peaks) is a

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

located at the border of

Taichung City Taichung (, Wade–Giles: ''Tʻai²-chung¹'', pinyin: ''Táizhōng''), officially Taichung City, is a special municipality located in central Taiwan. Taichung has approximately 2.8 million residents and is the second most populous city of Tai ...

and Nantou County, spanning the cities of Caotun, Guoxing, Wufeng, and

Taiping __NOTOC__ Taiping, Tai-p’ing, or Tai Ping most often refers to: Chinese history * Princess Taiping (died 713), Tang dynasty princess * Taiping Rebellion (1850–1864), civil war in southern China ** Taiping Heavenly Kingdom (1851–1864), the re ...

. The protected area contains many small, jagged peaks, hence the name.

Description

Jiujiufeng is located on the north bank of the

Dadu River The Dadu River (), known in Tibetan as the Gyelmo Ngul Chu, is a major river located primarily in Sichuan province, southwestern China. The Dadu flows from the eastern Tibetan Plateau into the Sichuan Basin where it joins with the Min River, a t ...

southeast of Taichung City. Geologically, Jiujiufeng is located in the Toukeshan Formation (頭嵙山層), a

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was finally confirmed in ...

-era

formation Formation may refer to: Linguistics * Back-formation, the process of creating a new lexeme by removing or affixes * Word formation, the creation of a new word by adding affixes Mathematics and science * Cave formation or speleothem, a secondar ...

primarily composed of gravelly rocks. Since the soil has high permeability, the peaks are easily eroded by rainfall to form the jagged peaks. Despite the terrain, Jiujiufeng still sustains a wide array of plant life, including the rare ''

Reevesia formosana ''Reevesia'' is a genus of flowering plant in the family Malvaceae Malvaceae, or the mallows, is a family of flowering plants estimated to contain 244 genera with 4225 known species. Well-known members of economic importance include okra, cot ...

''. The 1999 Jiji earthquake caused many landslides within Jiujiufeng, which uncovered the red laterite surfaces beneath and destroyed much of the original vegetation. The resulting unique landscape prompted the

Forestry Bureau The Forestry Bureau () is an agency of the Council of Agriculture of Taiwan (ROC). History The Forestry Bureau was originally established in 1945 as the Office of Forestry Administration. In June 1947, the office was disbanded and the Forestry ...

to protect it as a nature preservation area (自然保留區) on 22 May 2000.

Hiking

There is a long

hiking trail A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or small road usually passing through a natural area. In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, a path or footpath is the preferred term for a pedestrian or hiking trail. The ...

that makes a loop within Jiujiufeng. The trail is accessible from Caotun.

References

{{commonscat Caotun Township Landforms of Taichung Landforms of Nantou County

Description

Hiking

See also

References