Welcome to the Matterhorn of Taiwan Earth Cache!
In this Earth Cache, you will learn about Glacier Erosion, specifically something known as a "Cirque Peak", which is basically a "Matterhorn-Shaped Mountain." There is only one such peak here in Taiwan — The Hehuan Jian Mountain (合歡尖山). Upon learning all there is to know about glaciers and their force of sculpting when it comes to creating a "Cirque Peak", you will be ready to put on your Earth Science Caps and get geological here at that one-of-a-kind "Cirque Peak" in Taiwan! And after you answer the task questions and complete all your Glaciological Studies and Observations (which can all be found at the bottom of this page), you can log a “Found It!” for this Earth Cache. I hope you enjoy! Let’s get going and see what this "Matterhorn of Taiwan" is all about . . .
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How Glaciers Form and How They Reshape the Land：
To understand the geological uniqueness of this mountain here in Taiwan, we must first understand a little bit about what a glacier is exactly and how glaciers reshape the land.
In simple terms, a glacier is a piece of moving ice. It forms because of snow falling, and as more snow falls, obviously more and more snow accumulates on the mountains. As this snow begins to add up it compresses, or become denser and more tightly packed. It slowly changes from light, fluffy crystals to hard, round ice pellets. New snow falls and buries this granular snow or small ice pieces and there you have it — a glacier! And as this glacier continues to grow (or rather get heavier), gravity takes over and takes the glacier on a little trip down the mountains. As it glides across the mountains and swings on back like a pendulum over and over again, it erodes the land in its path and carves some amazing sights! Below on the left is a diagram to illustrate how a glacier forms, and on the right a digram to show some of the easily recognizable landforms created by this magic of Mother Nature:
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Now that we have gotten a little glimpse into how glaciers form and the landscapes they create, we are going to turn to the main focus of this Earth Cache — cirques and cirque peaks — and understand how this one-of-a-kind "Matterhorn" peak in Taiwan came to be — Hehuan Jian Mountain (合歡尖山).
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The Matterhorn of Taiwan — Hehuan Jian Mountain （合歡尖山)
Everyone knows the world famous Matterhorn, known as the Jewel of the Alps, but did you know Taiwan has one such "jewel" as well？ That's right. There is a one-of-a-kind "hidden" peak among the Hehuan Group of Mountains (合歡群峰) that unfortunately gets eclipsed by the more "famous" peaks in the area since the "Matterhorn Peak" here is not listed in the group of "The 100 Most Famous Peaks in Taiwan" (百岳).
But what if I told you that this peak was formed in the same exact way as the world-famous tetrahedron of a mountain located in Switzerland, and that this peak in Taiwan is the only such kind that came to be in that same exact fashion? Would you be more curious about it and want to see it for yourself? Let's go on a little journey here to see the geological wonder of the Taiwan Matterhorn.
As a lot of you may know, Taiwan came to be many millions of years ago when the Eurasia Plate and the Philippine Plate collided and pushed up rock material from deep down in the ocean creating this island nation and the numerous high peaks all over the island. However, only "recently" (like let's say around 10 to 20 thousand years ago), so many high peaks in Taiwan have been subject to glacier erosion! That's right! So many of Taiwan's peaks are so high that during the most recent ice age they got "slammed" by snow galore which eventually turned into glaciers and eroded the mountains to create so many unique landforms, like the Matternhorn of Taiwan — Hehuan Jian Mountain(合歡尖山).
Hehuan Jian Mountain (合歡尖山, just like its counterpart in Switzerland, was shaped by the same glacial erosion processes — plucking and abrasion. Plucking, as the name indicates, is when the glacier freezes stones as it travels across them, and then when the rocks "thaw" the glacier will "pluck" them away and move them. This plucking causes the landscape to have a jagged look. Abrasion is when rocks become embedded in the base and side of the glacier and then are rubbed against the bedrock as the glacier moves. This abrasion process can be thought of like sandpaper since the constant rubbing causes the "finished project" to have a smooth look with maybe some scratches apparent, thus being a sign of glacial erosion.
One such landform, which is the main focus of this Earth Cache, that is created because of these two processes is known as a glacial cirque. As you saw from the diagram under the How Glaciers Form and How They Reshape the Land section above, a cirque is simply a valley. It has a "Colosseum" shape among other defining characteristics. One such feature of a cirque is it is typically surrounded on three sides by steep cliffs, with the highest cliff known as a headwall. Below is a simple diagram illustrating the features of a cirque:
Now when two or more adjacent cirques and glaciers continuously dig and erode the back wall of the mountain, they gradually form horn-shaped peaks between these cirques and a "Matterhorn" is formed, or more geologically speaking, a cirque peak. Below is a diagram illustrating a cirque peak:
So it is with the Matterhorn of Taiwan — Hehuan Jian Mountain (合歡尖山). It come into existence millions and millions of years ago during the convergence of the Eurasia and Philippine Plates, but it is only recent that it has been sculpted into the hidden jewel of Taiwan.
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Logging Requirements:
Hehuan Jian Mountain (合歡尖山) is definitely a one-of-a-kind geological wonder carved by glaciers here in Taiwan, and at the Posted Coordinates you will see the unique landforms that were shaped by the forces of Mother Nature, and at the same time, get a glimpse into this mountain's rich geological history, not only from the perspective of millions of years ago but also from a more "recent" period — The Modern Ice Age! So let's get going and visit this Matterhorn in Taiwan — Hehuan Jian Mountain (合歡尖山)!
In order to log a Found It! for this Earth Cache, please go to the Posted Coordinates to complete the following tasks:
1. Based on what you have learned about cirque peaks what defining characteristics can you observe that indicate that this peak is a cirque peak? (Hint: Pay attention to the ascent/descent as you make your way to and from the Posted Coordinates.) How were you able to come to your conclusions about why this location is a cirque peak?
2. As you travel up one of the trailheads and down the other, what do you notice about the ascent/descent? Based on what you have learned about glacier erosion and cirque peaks, and based on your observations to and from the Posted Coordinates, what do the ascents/descents tell you about how the glaciers eroded the land? How much of a "Matterhorn" (tetrahedron) are you able to observe and why? What does this tell you about how the glaciers acted when eroding this landform? How did you come to your conclusion?
3. Based on what you have learned about glaciers themselves in which direction(s) did the glaciers flow? How did you come to your conclusion(s)?
4. Optional: Post a photo of yourself or a "Geocaching" item identifying yourself near or on the Matterhorn of Taiwan!
You may log a Found It! on this cache after you have completed the tasks and emailed me the answers. If there are any issues with your answers, I will contact you. And as a friendly reminder, please do not post any of the answers in your logs. Thank you for visiting this Earth Cache. I hope you enjoy your time on The Matterhorn — Hehuan Jian Mountain (合歡尖山)!