Geoparks and geoturism in Taiwan

The island of Taiwan is located at the boundary of the Eurasiatic Plate and the Phillipine Plate, in the zone of collision and hence, intense mountain building and seismic activity. Rates of uplift and incision around the Taroko Gorge belong to the highest on Earth and a variety of inland and coastal erosional landscapes occurs in Taiwan. Geodiversity of Taiwan is extremely high and provides natural basis for geotourism development. Although official participation in the UNESCO-supported Global Geopark Network is not possible on political grounds, Taiwan strongly adheres to the idea of geo-education through geoparks and interpreted geosites. In 2011 a national network of geoparks was created in Taiwan that so far consists of six geoparks, including four on the main island and two on offshore archipelagos. Themes such as basalt volcanism, coastal evolution, melanges and badlands, landslides and mud volcanoes are represented in Taiwanese geoparks