November 3, 2005
By Steven Crook
The China Post

Taiwan is littered with evidence of geothermal activity. There are dozens of hot springs, steam vents like those in Yangmingshan National Park, and, strangest of all, a number of mud volcanoes.

Mud volcanoes are not true volcanoes; they do not erupt lava or ash. They tend to form where the earth's crust is weak, along fault lines or where there are oil and gas deposits.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey's website, "A mud volcano is a small volcano-shaped cone of mud and clay, usually less than 1-2 meters tall. These small mud volcanoes are built by a mixture of hot water and fine sediment (mud and clay) that either (1) pours gently from a vent in the ground like a fluid lava flow; or (2) is ejected into the air like a lava fountain by escaping volcanic gas and boiling water."

The fine mud is created when volcanic heat and gases turn groundwater into a hot, acidic mixture that breaks down solid rock. Much of the gas released by these curiosities is methane, and some of the world's thousands of mud volcanoes have been known to erupt in flames.

Mud volcanoes are tourist attractions in New Zealand, Azerbaijan, Trinidad, the Andaman Islands, Yellowstone National Park in the U.S. and Yanchao Township in South Taiwan's Kaohsiung County.

Wushanding Mud Volcano Nature Reserve is a little difficult to find, but makes for a good countryside daytrip. The landscape around here is marked by ridges of bare clay hillocks, often likened to the surface of the moon. Despite the loud buzzing of cicadas, as soon as you arrive, you'll hear the gurgling of the mud volcano.

This 4.89-hectare site is an official nature reserve, the smallest of 19 supervised by the central government's Council of Agriculture. But looking at this garbage-ridden plot of land, you wouldn't guess it is protected. At the time of my visit, trash was strewn about the entrance, and the slopes of the volcano itself were littered with plastic cups, disposable rice bowls, and other utensils used by visitors to scoop and play with the mud.

Despite the unappealing condition of the place, the mud volcano is well worth visiting. It's a very short walk from the entrance of the nature reserve to the volcano itself. The cone is as high as a man; the crater is about a meter in diameter. Bubbles of gas erupt every few seconds -- stand too close and your clothes will get spattered. Mud trickles down the side of the volcano, and disappears into a hole in the ground. Surprisingly, the liquid mud is cool to the touch.

A few meters away there's another volcano that has been extinct for a while. And also near Jinshan Village there are the Yangnyu Mud Ponds, a series of chocolate-colored pools which gargle constantly.

A trip to Wushanding can easily be combined with a visit to Agongdian Reservoir and the moon-like scenery around Tianliau.

GETTING THERE:

Take the Sun Yat-sen Freeway to the Gangshan Interchange, then drive eastwards through Yanchao's small downtown. There are bilingual road signs to the mud volcano and the Yangnyu Mud Ponds.

http://www.chinapost.com.tw/travel/detail.asp?ID=71330&GRP=g