Penghu Islands are located in the Taiwan Strait in the west of Taiwan Island. They are named because the sea outside the harbor is turbulent and the water inside the harbor is as calm as a lake. It consists of 64 islands in the southeastern part of the Taiwan Strait. The main islands are Penghu Island, Yuweng Island and Baisha Island, with an area of approximately 96.6 square kilometers, accounting for 76.1% of the total area. There are 8 islands with an area of more than 1 square kilometer, including Hujing, Jibei, and Wangan. The remaining 53 islands have an area of less than 1 square kilometer, and 44 of them are uninhabited.
The Penghu Islands are located at the center of the Taiwan Strait and strangle the shipping hub of eastern Asia. They are known as the "Key to the Southeast".
The development history of Penghu can be traced back to before the Qin and Han Dynasties. Penghu plays an indelible and important role in the spread of culture. later. With the development of navigation technology, the Penghu Islands have gradually become a springboard for cross-strait traffic across the Taiwan Strait. It has a good harbor and is a gathering point for various ship activities in the Taiwan Strait. Penghu was officially included in the territory of China in the Song Dynasty. At that time, people from Quanzhou, Fujian Province had moved to Penghu. After the liberation of Taiwan, Penghu County was established in 1946. Since Chiang Kai-shek retreated to Taiwan, the Penghu Islands have been regarded as the first defensive barrier for Taiwan's main island . There are first-line and second-line positions on the Penghu main island.
The Penghu Islands are located between the main island of Taiwan and Fujian Province, east of the center of the Taiwan Strait, 45 kilometers away from the nearest point in Chiayi County Dongshi Township Aogu Village in the east of Taiwan's main island, and 140 kilometers away from the nearest point in Jinjiang Weitou in Fujian Province in the west. meters, the Tropic of Cancer crosses the central part of the archipelago. The entire archipelago is composed of 64 islands (16 are stationed by the army). The islands are widely distributed, from Mendou Island (23°45.7' north latitude) at the northern end to Qimei Island (23°09.7' north latitude) at the southern end, with a length of about 60 It is about 40 kilometers wide and has a total area of 126.9 square kilometers. It is the main barrier to guard Taiwan from Chamou Island in the east (119°42.9' east longitude) to Huayu Island (119°18.1' east longitude) in the west. .
The Penghu Islands can reach the Matsu Islands, Dachen Island and Zhoushan Islands to the north, and the Dongsha Islands, Nansha Islands to the south, and can lead to the Philippines and Southeast Asian countries. The Penghu Islands are located at the center of the Taiwan Strait and strangle the shipping hub of eastern Asia. They are known as the "Key to the Southeast". When Zheng Chenggong regained Taiwan, he used it as a bridgehead and landed here first.
Topography
The base of the Penghu Islands is an uplifted basalt square mountain, which was formed after many sea and land ups and downs, sea erosion and volcanic eruptions, generally at an altitude of 20-30 meters. Viewed from the sea, the terrain is low and flat, like large and small flat disks floating on the sea; the average altitude is 17 meters, and the highest point is Da Mao Island in Wang'an Township in the southwest, with an altitude of 78.9 meters. The inland sea surrounded by three islands is Penghu Bay , which is about 12 kilometers long from north to south and about 8 kilometers wide from east to west. The north entrance is Niugongwan Strait, which has a cross-sea bridge and cannot be navigated; the south entrance is blocked by Fengguili Peninsula and Yuweng Island, with a width of about 3.3 kilometers and a water depth of 10 to 62 meters. There are no wharf facilities in the bay, but the anchorage in the north of Strait Rock has a water depth of more than 10 meters and a muddy bottom, making it the most ideal wind-sheltered anchorage in Taiwan in winter.
Island composition
Among the 64 islands, Penghu Island has the largest area at 64.24 square kilometers, followed by Baisha and Xiyu (Yuweng Island). There are 8 islands with an area of more than 1 square kilometer, including Hujing, Jibei, and Wangan. The remaining 53 islands have an area of less than 1 square kilometer, and 44 of them are uninhabited. The main islands, Penghu Main Island, Yuweng Island and Baisha Island, cover an area of approximately 96.6 square kilometers, accounting for 76.1% of the total area. The three islands include the 2,150-meter-long cross-sea bridge between Baisha Island and Yuweng Island, the 500-meter-long Yongan Bridge between Zhongdun Island and Baisha Island, and the 1,007-meter-long Zhongzheng Bridge between Magong Island and Zhongdun Island. The bridge connects the island and there are no railways on land. There are 4 main highways with a total length of about 130 kilometers.
Penghu Island, also known as Dashan Island, is located at 119°32.0' east longitude and 23°30.5' north latitude. It covers an area of 64.2 (79.0 at low tide) square kilometers and is the largest island in the archipelago. Magong City, located in the west of the island, is the political, economic and cultural center of the region. Since 1974, Chenggong Reservoir, Xingren Reservoir and Dongwei Reservoir have been built, basically solving the water problem.The commanding heights on the island are: Gongbei Mountain 52 meters, Taiwu Mountain 46 meters, Shamao Mountain 45 meters, Kuibi Mountain 34 meters. The coastline is 114.52 kilometers long, with twists and turns, many rocks offshore, and many cliffs along the coast. Among them, Longmen Village (Liangwen Port) to Suoguan Port are located in the southern part of the island. The coastline is about 11 kilometers long. It has fine sand or a mixed beach of sand and gravel. The low-tide beach is 150 to 300 meters wide; the south side of Shanshui (Zhuwei) is moist. It is located at the southernmost tip of the island, with a coastline of about 1.2 kilometers long and a sandy beach. The beach is less than 100 meters wide at low tide. The Taiwanese military often holds landing exercises at these two places.
Yuweng Island, also known as Xiyu, is located in the northwest of Penghu Island, with east longitude 119°27.6' and north latitude 2
Yuweng Island
3°33.6'. It is the second largest island in the archipelago and has sufficient water resources. The island is long and narrow, 9 kilometers long from north to south, and about 1 kilometers at its narrowest point from east to west, with an area of 18.2 square kilometers. There are several small highlands with an altitude of more than 50 meters at the southern end. The highest point is the 58 highland east of Waijun Village in the southwest. The coastline is 40.2 kilometers long, with twists and turns and many coral reefs along the coast.
Baisha Island, also known as Beishan Island, is located to the north of Penghu Island, with 119°32.7' east longitude and 23°37.2' north latitude. It is the third largest island in the archipelago, with an area of about 14.1 (25.6 at low tide) square kilometers. The highest point is The 40-meter-high Lookout Mountain (also known as Yandun Mountain). The coastline is 31.9 kilometers long, with twists and turns. The coast is mostly surrounded by coral reefs and has strong winds and strong currents.
Climate Characteristics
The Penghu Islands have a subtropical oceanic climate, which is mild all year round. They are the only area in Taiwan with the least rainfall and a dry climate. Rainfall is mostly concentrated from May to September (with the most from June to July), especially from October to November. There are occasional salty rains in winter and summer, and the average annual foggy days are 2 to 3 days. February is the coldest month with an average temperature of 16℃; July is the hottest month with an average temperature of 28℃; the annual average temperature is about 23℃. It is windy with high wind speed. The number of windy days in the year can reach 138. The wind direction is stable and the annual average wind speed reaches 6.1 meters/second. From November to April of the following year, there are mostly northeasterly winds, with the strongest winds from November to January; from June to August, there are more southerly or southwesterly winds; from June to September, there are more typhoons.
Ocean currents and tides
Ocean currents are roughly the same as those along the western coast of Taiwan. Except for the period when the northeast monsoon is strong and flows from the northeast to the southwest with a weak velocity, the rest of the year flows from the southwest to the northeast with a velocity of 0.3 to 3.5 knots; the velocity of the Penghu waterway is Larger; the maximum wave height can reach 6 to 7 meters.
Penghu Islands (18)
The northern half of the tide is a regular semidiurnal tide, and the southern half is an irregular semidiurnal tide. The southern half of the tide advances earlier than the northern half, and the tidal range in the northern half is greater than the southern half. The average high tide interval is 11 hours and 57 minutes, the average spring tidal range is 2.25 meters, the average tidal range is 1.33 meters, and the average tidal range is 1.79 meters. Due to the numerous islands and waterways, the direction of the tidal current is changeable. Basically, it flows along the waterway. The rising (lowing) tide flows to the north (south) or northwest (southeast), and turns around at the high and low tides of Magong Harbor; the flow speed is near Taiwan. The maximum is usually about 3 knots, and the maximum can be more than 5 knots. The strongest moment of ebb and flow is 3 hours after high and low tide in Magong Port. At the east end of Hujing Island , the high (low) current flows to the northwest (southeast), with a flow speed of about 4 (4..8) knots; in the south of Qiziwei, the high (low) current flows to the west (southeast), with a flow speed of 4 to 5.8 knots. (3.8～5) knots; at the south entrance of Penghu Bay, the high (low) current flows to the northeast (southeast or southwest), with a flow speed of 1.3 (1.5) knots; near Magong Port, the high (low) current flows to the east (northwest), and the flow speed is less than 0.5 knots; near the entrance of the North Channel of Niugong Bay, from about 3.5 hours after the high (low) tide to about 3.5 hours after the low (high) tide, it is a northwest (southeast) flow, with a flow speed of 4.5 knots, and about 3.5 hours after the high and low tides. 3.5 hours is the diversion time; the Penghu waterway is greatly affected by the north-facing bay. 2.5 nautical miles east of Cha Island, the flow flows to the north (south) during high (low) tide, with a maximum flow speed of 5 (1.8) knots; 8 nautical miles to the east, seawater often flows north, with a maximum flow speed of about 5 knots at high tide, and very slow flow at ebb tide, only 0.5 knots; 10 nautical miles east of Jibei Island , seawater often flows north, with a maximum flow speed of up to 10 knots at high tide in summer. 5 to 6 knots, and the flow speed is about 0.5 knots at ebb tide; Jiangjun Water Channel generally flows to the northwest (southeast) during high (ebb) tide, with a flow speed of 2 to 4 (2.5 to 3) knots, and basically changes the flow at high and low tides. The east side of the waterway is larger than the west side; between the Badou Islands and nearby islands to the east, west and south, the flow generally flows north (south) during high (low) tide, with a maximum flow speed of about 3.5 (2.5-3.5) knots.
