Yehliu Geopark

Date CapturedMay 13th, 2013 at 08:27 UTCCameraNIKON D3100LensAF-S DX VR Zoom-Nikkor 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G IF-ED [II] or AF-S DX VR Zoom-Nikkor 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G IF-EDApertureƒ / 5Shutter Speed1/100 secFocal Length22.0 mmISO400Exposure Value11.3 EVOriginal Size3600 × 2400

Yehliu is a narrow cape extending roughly 1,700 meters into the sea at the northern edge of Wanli, where thick beds of Miocene sandstone have been sculpted by wind, wave, and tectonic uplift into mushroom rocks, honeycomb patterns, potholes, and sea caves. The name descends from the charts of the Spanish, who marked the headland Punto Diablos, or “Devil’s Cape”, after repeatedly running aground here in the 17th century. Han settlers later shortened and transliterated the word into Hokkien as iá-liú (野柳). The cape was folded into the North Coast and Guanyinshan National Scenic Area in 2002 and contracted out to a private operator in 2006, when it took its present name and was developed in earnest for mass tourism. Its best-known formation is the Queen’s Head (女王頭), a mushroom rock whose steadily thinning neck has made the timing of its collapse a recurring subject of public debate.