Home to Taiwan’s only active volcano is open again to tourists
Taiwan News
Date: 2017/03/01
By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer
TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Turtle Island (龜山島), an islet 10 kilometers off the coast of the
Turtle Island (Photo by flickr user miquitos)
northeastern Taiwanese town of Toucheng in Yilan County, will open to limited numbers of the public today, after having closed for three months for environmental protection, according to the Tourism Bureau.
The island, which gained its name for its shape reminiscent of a floating turtle, is 3.3 kilometers wide and 1.7 kilometers long, comprises a total area of 2.85 square kilometers in size, and is 401 meters above sea level at its highest point.
Having last erupted in 1785, it is the only known active volcano in Taiwan and was first inhabited by fishermen from Fujian in 1853. The entire civilian population was relocated in 1977 and the island served as a military base until 2000, when it was opened up for tourism. [FULL STORY]
