Geography of Taiwan - Physical Boundaries

Physical Boundaries

The main island of the archipelago is Taiwan Island, which comprises about 99% of the current jurisdiction of the Republic of China; the other 1% consists of the smaller islands of the archipelago such as Orchid Island and the Penghu islands, along with the tiny islets - Green Island and Hsiao Liuchiu. The archipelago is separated from China by the Taiwan Strait, which ranges from 220 km (137 mi) at its widest point to 130 km (81 mi) at its narrowest point. Taiwan is bounded by the Bashi Channel in the south, the East China Sea in the north, and the Pacific Ocean in the east. The shape of the main island of Taiwan is similar to a sweet potato seen in a south-to-north direction, and therefore, Taiwanese, especially the Min-nan division, often call themselves "children of the Sweet Potato."

The islands of Quemoy, Matsu, Wuchiu, etc. across the Taiwan Strait, and Pratas and Taiping in the South China Sea, are also administered by Taiwan. These islands are however not part of the Taiwanese archipelago. Taiwan's area is 35,980 km2 (13,892 sq mi) of which 32,260 km2 (12,456 sq mi) is land and 3,720 km2 (1,436 sq mi) is territorial water claims, making it slightly smaller than the combined area of Maryland and Delaware, or slightly bigger than territory of Belgium. It is 394 km (245 mi) long and 144 km (89 mi) wide. It has a coastline of 1,566.3 km (973.3 mi). The ROC claims an exclusive economic zone of 200 nmi (370.4 km; 230.2 mi) and a territorial sea of 12 nmi (22.2 km; 13.8 mi).