The Central Mountain Range, also known as the Chungyang Range , is the principal range of mountains in Taiwan

Taiwan

Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...

. It runs from the north of the island to the south.
Due to this separation, connecting between the west and east is not so convenient. The tallest peak of the range is Siouguluan Mountain

Siouguluan Mountain

The Siouguluan Mountain, Xiuguluan Mountain or Hsiukuluanshan is a mountain in Taiwan in Yushan National Park with an elevation of 3,860 m . It is located in Hualien County by the Siouguluan River which has many tributaries such as Fuyuan River, Fengping River and Lekuleku River, all nearby the...

, 3,860 meters (12,664 feet).

In a broad sense, Central Mountain Range include its conjoint ranges such as Hsuehshan Range

Hsuehshan Range

Xueshan Range , also known as the Snow Mountain Range, is a mountain range in northern Taiwan. It faces the Chungyang Range on the southeast. The tallest peak of Hsuehshan Range is Hsuehshan , which has a height of...

 and Yushan Range

Yushan Range

Yushan Range, also known as the Jade Mountain Range, is a mountain range in central-southern region of Taiwan. It faces the Central Mountain Range on the east, and separated by Nantzuhsien River from the Alishan Range which is on the west of Yushan Range...

, thus the tallest peak of Central Mountain Range in this sense is Yu Shan (Jade Mountain), 3,952 meters (12,966 feet), and the second tallest peak is Hsuehshan

Hsuehshan

Xueshan or Hsuehshan or Snow Mountain is the second highest mountain in Taiwan and in East Asia. At above sea level.It is located in the Shei-Pa National Park and it is visible in good weather from Taiwan's capital -Taipei- nearby hills....

 (Snow Mountain), 3,886 meters (12,749 feet).

Ecology

The Central Range lies within the Taiwan subtropical evergreen forests

Taiwan subtropical evergreen forests

The Taiwan subtropical evergreen forests is an ecoregion that covers most of the island of Taiwan, with the exception of the southern tip of the island, which constitutes the South Taiwan monsoon rain forests ecoregion...

 ecoregion, and the composition of the forest varies with elevation. The coastal plains and lower elevations are covered by evergreen laurel-Castanopsis

Castanopsis

Castanopsis is a genus of evergreen trees belonging to the beech family, Fagaceae. The genus contains about 120 species, which are today restricted to tropical and subtropical eastern Asia. A total of 58 species are native to China, with 30 endemic; the other species occur further south, through...

forests, dominated by Cryptocarya chinensis

Cryptocarya chinensis

Cryptocarya chinensis, commonly known as the Chinese Cryptocarya, is a medium-sized evergreen tree native to the subtropical forests of Taiwan, southern China, and Japan.Synonym: Beilschmiedia chinensis Hance....

and Castanopsis hystrix

Castanopsis hystrix

Castanopsis hystrix is a species of evergreen broadleaf tree, which grows up to 30 meters in height.The tree is found in subtropical broadleaved evergreen forests, ranging from the eastern Himalayas of Nepal, Bhutan, and northeastern India, across Indochina , southern China Castanopsis hystrix is a...

, with scattered stands of the subtropical pine Pinus massoniana

Pinus massoniana

Pinus massoniana is a species of pine, native to a wide area of central and southern China, including Hong Kong and Taiwan, and northern Vietnam, growing at low to moderate altitudes, mostly below 1,500 m but rarely up to 2,000 m altitude.- Description :It is an evergreen tree reaching 25-45 m in...

. As elevation increases, the evergreen broadleaf trees are gradually replaced by deciduous broadleaf trees and conifers. At higher elevations, Cyclobalanopsis glauca

Cyclobalanopsis glauca

Quercus glauca , also known as Ring-cupped Oak, Japanese Blue Oak or Glaucous-leaf Oak, is a species in the genus Quercus, native to Asia from Afghanistan east to southern Japan , Taiwan , and Vietnam.It is a small to medium-sized evergreen broadleaf tree growing to 15-20 m tall...

replaces laurel and Castanopsis as the dominant tree.

Above 3,000 meters, deciduous broadleaf trees like Formosan Alder

Formosan Alder

Alnus. formosana, or Formosan Alder, is a species of alder native to Taiwan....

 (Alnus formosana) and maple

Maple

Acer is a genus of trees or shrubs commonly known as maple.Maples are variously classified in a family of their own, the Aceraceae, or together with the Hippocastanaceae included in the family Sapindaceae. Modern classifications, including the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group system, favour inclusion in...

 (Acer spp.) mix with Taiwan Hemlock (Tsuga chinensis). At the highest elevations, subalpine forests are dominated by conifers, including Taiwan hemlock

Tsuga

Tsuga is a genus of conifers in the family Pinaceae. The common name hemlock is derived from a perceived similarity in the smell of its crushed foliage to that of the unrelated plant poison hemlock....

 (Tsuga chinensis), Taiwan spruce

Spruce

A spruce is a tree of the genus Picea , a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the Family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal regions of the earth. Spruces are large trees, from tall when mature, and can be distinguished by their whorled branches and conical...

 (Picea morrisonicola), and Taiwan fir

Fir

Firs are a genus of 48–55 species of evergreen conifers in the family Pinaceae. They are found through much of North and Central America, Europe, Asia, and North Africa, occurring in mountains over most of the range...

(Abies kawakamii).

Reference and external link

• Taiwan subtropical evergreen forests (World Wildlife Fund)