The warm Kuroshio Current, flowing northward from the equator, brings a bounty of fish to the waters there. To the west lies Taiwan's central mountain range. In the summer, seasonal southeastern winds trap warm air fronts, which rise along the slopes of the eastern mountains and condense into rains. The rainwater brings life to lush forests and forms streams that have cut out magnificent gorges.
300 萬年前，板塊運動將海岸山脈與中央山脈推擠併接成寬度僅 2 ∼ 7 公里的狹長縱谷，面東形成海崖，從赤道北上的溫暖黑潮，為此地海域帶來豐富漁場；面西則是台灣脊樑中央山脈，夏季東南季風挾帶熱氣團，沿著東部陡峭山坡攀昇，形成凝結雨，潤澤出蓊鬱山林，湍急溪水則下切出瑰麗峽谷。