Build Taiwan造一座台灣
Start from the sea. Watch the peak climb quickly at first and then level off near the yellow line.
從一片海開始。看山頂一開始爬得很快，接近黃線的時候慢下來。
Earth and Weather · Unit 1 · Lesson 4 · 地球與天氣 單元一 第四課
How Did Taiwan's Mountains Rise?台灣的山是怎麼來的？
Taiwan has 268 peaks higher than 3,000 meters, on an island you can drive across in a few hours. Where did they come from? In a 3D model, watch the push of a plate squeeze the seabed into mountains while rain and rivers wear them down. Then work out how tall the mountains would be if nothing ever wore them away.
台灣有 268 座超過 3,000 公尺的高山，而這座島開車幾個小時就能橫越。這些山是從哪裡來的？在 3D 模型裡，看板塊的推力把海底擠成高山，雨水和河流又把山削下來。再算算看：如果從來沒有東西把山削掉，它們會有多高？
Big idea · 一句話看懂
Taiwan's mountains were squeezed up out of the sea. The Philippine Sea Plate pushes against the edge of the continent, and the mud and sand on the seabed between them are piled up and lifted, a few millimeters a year. At the same time, rain and rivers wear the mountains down. How tall a mountain stands depends on which side is winning.
台灣的山，是從海裡被擠出來的。菲律賓海板塊推著大陸的邊緣，夾在中間的海底泥沙被堆高、往上抬，每年幾公釐。同一時間，雨水和河流又不停地把山削下來。一座山有多高，要看這兩邊誰占上風。
3D Model · 3D 模型
Pushed Up, Worn Down 往上推，往下削
Drag to turn the model, and scroll or pinch to zoom. At the start there is only a shallow sea. The plate on the right pushes in, and the layers of mud and sand begin to pile up. Watch the peak climb toward the yellow line, which marks the height of Yushan today. Then change how fast the land is pushed up and how hard the rain wears it down. What happens if the pushing stops?
拖曳可以旋轉模型，滾輪或雙指可以縮放。一開始只有一片淺淺的海。右邊的板塊推進來，一層一層的泥沙開始堆高。看山頂怎麼往黃線爬，那條線標的是玉山現在的高度。接著改改看：往上推得多快、雨水削得多兇。如果推的力量停了，會怎麼樣？
Drag to turn · 拖曳旋轉 Scroll or pinch to zoom · 滾輪／雙指縮放
This 3D model needs WebGL, which this browser does not support. The reading and the cards below still explain everything.
這個瀏覽器不支援 WebGL，無法顯示 3D 模型；下方的課文與卡片一樣能看懂。
- Yellow line: the height of Yushan today
黃線：玉山現在的高度 - Blue streaks: rain
藍色短線：雨 - Brown dots: sand and mud carried downhill
褐色小點：被帶下山的泥沙
A teaching model with example numbers. Only one of them is measured: the piled-up rock of Taiwan is rising at about 5 millimeters a year. The other speeds, and the rule that taller mountains wear down faster, were chosen to show the idea. Heights are drawn about ten times too tall compared with widths, and a million years passes in about three seconds.
這是用示例數字做的教學模型。其中只有一個是量出來的：台灣堆起來的岩層，每年大約升高 5 公釐。其他的速度，還有「山越高削得越快」這條規則，都是為了說明道理而選的。高度和寬度比起來畫高了大約十倍；大約三秒鐘就過了一百萬年。
Model drawn by My Culture Connect as a teaching diagram. The ideas follow Wikipedia, “Geology of Taiwan” and the other sources listed at the bottom of this page. · 模型由人師教育協會自繪示意；原理依維基百科「Geology of Taiwan」條目與本頁最下方列出的其他出處。
Reading · 英文閱讀
4
Unit 4: How Did Taiwan's Mountains Rise?
Stand on the west coast of Taiwan on a clear morning and look east. A wall of mountains fills the sky. The highest of them, Yushan, is 3,952 meters tall, and 268 peaks on this small island are higher than 3,000 meters. Yet a few million years ago, there was no island here at all. There was only the sea.
在晴朗的早晨站在台灣的西海岸，往東邊看。一整排高山像牆一樣擋住了天空。其中最高的玉山有 3,952 公尺；這座小島上，超過 3,000 公尺的山峰有 268 座。可是幾百萬年前，這裡根本沒有島，只有海。
The mountains came from a slow collision. In Lesson 2 you saw that the Philippine Sea Plate pushes toward the northwest, about 7 centimeters a year. In front of it lay the edge of the continent, covered with thick layers of mud and sand under the water. As the plate pushed in, those layers had nowhere to go.
這些山來自一場很慢的碰撞。在第二課你看過，菲律賓海板塊每年大約以 7 公分的速度往西北方推。在它前面的是大陸的邊緣，上面蓋著厚厚一層又一層泡在水裡的泥沙。板塊推進來，這些泥沙無處可去。
So they went up. Think of pushing a rug across the floor against a wall: the rug wrinkles and rises into folds. In the same way, the layers of the seabed were squeezed, folded, and piled on top of one another until they rose out of the sea. That pile is the island of Taiwan, and it formed only about 4 to 5 million years ago.
於是它們往上走。想像把一塊地毯沿著地板推向牆壁：地毯會起皺，拱成一道一道的褶子。海底的地層也是這樣被擠壓、被折彎、一層疊到另一層上面，直到冒出海面。這一堆東西，就是台灣這座島，而它大約在四、五百萬年前才形成。
The pushing has not stopped. The piled-up rock is still rising, by about 5 millimeters a year. That sounds like nothing. But in a million years, 5 millimeters a year adds up to 5 kilometers. If that were the whole story, Taiwan's mountains would be taller than any on Earth.
這股推力到現在都沒有停。堆起來的岩層還在往上升，每年大約 5 公釐。聽起來好像沒什麼；可是一百萬年下來，每年 5 公釐就是 5 公里。如果事情只有這樣，台灣的山會比地球上任何一座山都高。
They are not, because something is taking them apart. Rain, rivers, typhoons, and landslides break the rock and carry it downhill as gravel, sand, and mud. The steeper the slope, the faster the water runs and the more it can carry. In the lowlands the rivers slow down and drop their sand, and the plains where most people live are built from pieces of the mountains.
它們並沒有那麼高，因為有東西一直在拆它們。雨水、河流、颱風和山崩把岩石弄碎，變成礫石、沙和泥，帶到山下。坡越陡，水流得越快，能帶走的東西也越多。到了低地，河水慢下來，把沙放下；大部分人居住的平原，就是用山的碎片鋪出來的。
So a mountain is not a thing that sits still. It is more like a fountain: water is always rising and always falling, and the shape stays. Rock is pushed up from below and carried away from the top, year after year. The mountains you see are what is left over, for now, in a contest that is still going on.
所以，山並不是一個靜靜待在那裡的東西。它比較像一座噴泉：水一直往上冒、一直往下掉，形狀卻留在那裡。岩石從底下被推上來，又從山頂被帶走，一年又一年。你看到的山，是一場還在進行的拉鋸裡，目前剩下來的部分。
Read aloud · 課文朗讀
Questions · 閱讀理解
What were Taiwan's mountains made from?
From layers of mud and sand on the seabed, which were squeezed, folded, and piled up when the plate pushed in.
The land rises about 5 millimeters a year. Why are the mountains not far taller than they are?
Because rain, rivers, typhoons, and landslides wear them down at the same time, and steep slopes lose rock quickly.
Where does the rock go when it is worn off the mountains?
Rivers carry it downhill as gravel, sand, and mud. Much of it is dropped in the lowlands, where it builds the plains.
Words & Phrases · 生字及片語
mountain(n.)山We climbed the mountain in two days.我們花了兩天爬上那座山。peak(n.)山峰；山頂Snow covered the peak in winter.冬天山頂蓋著雪。squeeze(v.)擠壓Squeeze the lemon to get the juice.把檸檬擠一擠，擠出汁來。fold(v., n.)折疊；褶皺Fold the paper in half.把紙對折。rise(v.)上升The sun rises in the east.太陽從東邊升起。wear away(v.)磨損；侵蝕掉The steps have been worn away by many feet.台階被很多人的腳磨平了。landslide(n.)山崩；土石滑落The road was closed by a landslide.道路因為山崩而封閉。plain(n.)平原Rice grows well on the plain.稻米在平原上長得很好。
Quick Check · 小測驗
1. How did Taiwan's mountains form?
2. About how fast is the land rising?
3. What wears the mountains down?
4. Where does much of the worn-off sand and mud end up?
5. About how old is the island of Taiwan?
A Thought Experiment · 想像一下
What if nothing wore the mountains down? 如果沒有東西把山削掉？
Suppose the land rose 5 millimeters every year and no rain ever fell. How tall would the mountains be? Move the slider to choose how long the land has been rising.
假設地面每年升高 5 公釐，而且從來不下雨。山會有多高？拉動滑桿，選一選地面已經升了多久。
This is only multiplication: 5 millimeters a year, times the number of years. At that speed the land would reach the height of Yushan, 3,952 meters, in about 790,000 years. Taiwan has been rising for millions of years, so most of the rock that was pushed up is gone.這只是乘法：每年 5 公釐，乘上年數。照這個速度，大約 79 萬年就會升到玉山的高度 3,952 公尺。台灣已經升了好幾百萬年，所以被推上來的岩石，大部分都已經不在了。
Height with no erosion · 沒有侵蝕的高度
0 meters · 公尺
Try It in the Model · 在模型裡試試
Four experiments with a mountain 拿山來做四個實驗
Look at the two numbers at the bottom right. After a few million years, far more rock has been worn away than is left standing.
注意右下角的兩個數字。幾百萬年之後，被削掉的岩石比還留在那裡的多得多。
Stop the push把推力關掉
Nothing pushes up anymore, but the rain keeps falling. Watch the mountains melt away.
底下不再往上推，雨卻還在下。看山怎麼慢慢消失。
Make it pour讓雨下得更兇
With fiercer rain the mountains settle at a lower height, and more sand flows to the plain.
雨下得更兇，山會停在比較低的高度，流到平原的泥沙也變多。
A gentler climate溫和一點的氣候
Start again with gentle rain. The same push now builds much taller mountains.
換成輕輕的雨，從頭再來。同樣的推力，這次堆出高得多的山。
Go Further · 延伸閱讀
The push and the rivers 推力與河流
Earth and Weather · Lesson 2 · 地球與天氣 第二課Why Does Taiwan Have So Many Earthquakes?台灣為什麼地震這麼多？The land does not rise smoothly. Much of it rises in sudden jumps, one earthquake at a time.地面不是平平順順地升高的。有很大一部分是一次地震跳一下。Go to the lesson · 前往這一課 →Earth and Weather · Lesson 11 · 地球與天氣 第十一課How Do Rivers Shape the Land?河流怎麼改變大地？Follow the sand from the mountains down to the Changhua Plain.跟著山上的沙，一路走到彰化平原。Go to the lesson · 前往這一課 →
Taiwan's Mountains by the Numbers · 台灣高山的數字
Six numbers about a young island 一座年輕島嶼的六個數字
Small island, tall mountains, fast changes.
島很小，山很高，變化很快。
3,952meters · 公尺
The height of Yushan, the highest mountain in Taiwan.玉山的高度，台灣最高的山。
268peaks · 座山峰
The number of peaks on the island that are more than 3,000 meters high.島上超過 3,000 公尺的山峰數目。
5millimeters a year · 公釐（每年）
How fast the piled-up rock is rising into mountains.堆起來的岩層升高成山的速度。
200kilometers · 公里
How much the layers of sediment have been squeezed together in the last 4 million years.過去 400 萬年來，這些沉積的地層被擠短了這麼多。
4–5million years · 百萬年
About how long ago the island of Taiwan formed.台灣這座島大約在這麼久以前形成。
4meters in one night · 公尺（一個晚上）
In the 1999 Chi-Chi earthquake, the ground along the fault moved up by as much as 4 meters.1999 年集集大地震，斷層沿線的地面最多一口氣抬高了 4 公尺。
Mountain Stories · 山的故事
The highest peak, a gorge of marble, four meters in a night, and a very young island 最高的山、大理石的峽谷、一夜四公尺，還有一座很年輕的島
Four places where you can see the mountains being made.
四個看得見「山正在形成」的地方。
3,952 m
Yushan玉山
Yushan, or Jade Mountain, is the highest mountain in Taiwan at 3,952 meters. It stands among five rugged mountain ranges that run the length of the island, side by side, along the eastern two thirds of Taiwan. The flat western third is where most people live.
玉山是台灣最高的山，高 3,952 公尺。台灣東邊三分之二的土地上，有五條險峻的山脈並排著縱貫全島，玉山就在其中。西邊三分之一比較平坦，大部分的人住在那裡。
Taroko · 太魯閣
A river with a saw拿著鋸子的河
Taroko Gorge, in eastern Taiwan, was carved by the Liwu River. The river has cut straight down through marble, leaving walls of stone on both sides. It is a place where you can see both halves of this lesson at once: land that has been lifted high, and water that will not stop cutting.
東台灣的太魯閣峽谷，是立霧溪切出來的。這條河筆直地往下切穿了大理岩，兩邊留下高高的石壁。在這裡，你可以同時看到這一課的兩個主角：被抬得很高的土地，和不肯停止切割的水。
1999
Four meters in a night一夜四公尺
Mountains do not always rise smoothly. In the Chi-Chi earthquake of September 21, 1999, the ground broke along a line about 100 kilometers long, and in places one side was lifted as much as 4 meters. At 5 millimeters a year, that is about 800 years of rising, done in seconds.
山不一定是平平順順地長高的。1999 年 9 月 21 日的集集大地震，地表沿著一條大約 100 公里長的線裂開，有些地方的一側最多被抬高了 4 公尺。以每年 5 公釐來算，這等於把大約 800 年的份，在幾秒鐘之內做完。
4–5 Ma
A very young island很年輕的島
Geologists say that Taiwan formed about 4 to 5 million years ago. That is young. The Earth itself is about 4.5 billion years old, about a thousand times older. If the whole history of the Earth were squeezed into one day, Taiwan would appear in the last minute and a half before midnight.
地質學家說，台灣大約在四、五百萬年前形成。這很年輕。地球本身大約有 45 億歲，大約是它的一千倍。如果把地球的整段歷史壓縮成一天，台灣要到午夜前最後一分半鐘才出現。
Myth vs. Fact · 常見迷思
Four things people get wrong 四個常見的誤會
✗ Myth · 迷思Mountains have always been there and never change.山一直都在那裡，從來不會變。
✓ Fact · 事實Taiwan's mountains are only a few million years old, and they are still rising and still being worn down.台灣的山只有幾百萬年的歷史，而且現在還在升高，也還在被削低。
✗ Myth · 迷思Taiwan's high mountains are old volcanoes.台灣的高山是古老的火山。
✓ Fact · 事實Most of them are layers of the seabed that were squeezed and piled up when two plates collided.它們大部分是海底的地層，在兩塊板塊相撞時被擠壓、堆高而成的。
✗ Myth · 迷思If the land keeps rising, the mountains will keep getting taller.只要地面繼續升高，山就會一直變高。
✓ Fact · 事實Not if they are worn down just as fast. Rock can keep rising while the peaks stay about the same height.如果被削掉的速度一樣快，就不會。岩石可以一直往上升，山頂卻維持差不多的高度。
✗ Myth · 迷思Rain is too soft to wear away rock.雨水那麼軟，削不動岩石。
✓ Fact · 事實Given enough time, rain and rivers carry whole mountains away. Taroko Gorge was cut by a river.時間夠久，雨水和河流可以把整座山搬走。太魯閣峽谷就是一條河切出來的。
Remember It · 記憶口訣
Taiwan's mountains in a sentence 一句話記住台灣的山
Squeezed up from the sea從海裡擠出來的
Mud and sand on the seabed, folded and piled high.
海底的泥沙，被折彎、堆高。
Up 5 millimeters a year每年往上 5 公釐
Slow for us, fast for a mountain.
對我們來說很慢，對山來說很快。
Rain takes it back雨水又把它拿回去
Steep slopes lose their rock the fastest.
越陡的坡，岩石掉得越快。
The plains are pieces of the mountains平原是山的碎片
What comes off the top ends up under your feet.
從山頂掉下來的，最後到了你的腳下。
Safety First · 安全提醒
Before you try anything 動手之前先讀
- Do the sand and water activity outdoors or in a tray, and wipe up spills so that no one slips.玩沙和水的活動請在戶外或托盤裡做，潑出來的水要擦乾，才不會有人滑倒。
- Do not throw sand, and keep it away from your eyes. Wash your hands when you finish.不要丟沙子，也不要讓沙子碰到眼睛。做完要洗手。
- In the real mountains, stay away from steep slopes and riverbeds during and after heavy rain. That is when rocks fall and rivers rise.在真的山裡，大雨的時候和大雨過後，要遠離陡坡和河床。那正是落石和溪水暴漲的時候。
Classroom Activity 1 · 課堂活動一
Fold a Mountain 擠出一座山
You need · 準備材料
- Three or four small towels or sheets of modeling clay in different colors三、四條不同顏色的小毛巾，或是不同顏色的黏土片
- Two books or blocks of wood, and a ruler兩本書或兩塊木頭，還有一把尺
Steps · 步驟
- Lay the towels flat, one on top of another. These are layers of mud and sand on the seabed.把毛巾一條一條平鋪疊好。這是海底一層一層的泥沙。
- Put a book at each end. Hold one book still and slowly push the other toward it.兩頭各放一本書。一本不動，另一本慢慢往它推過去。
- Stop every few centimeters. Measure how far you have pushed and how high the folds have risen.每推幾公分就停一下，量一量推了多遠、褶子拱起來多高。
- Draw the layers from the side. Where are they bent the most? Did any layer end up on top of another?從側面把地層畫下來。哪裡彎得最厲害？有沒有哪一層跑到另一層的上面？
The book you push is the Philippine Sea Plate. The book that stays still is the edge of the continent.
你推的那本書是菲律賓海板塊，不動的那本是大陸的邊緣。
Classroom Activity 2 · 課堂活動二
Rain on a Sand Mountain 下在沙山上的雨
You need · 準備材料
- A tray, damp sand, and a ruler一個托盤、微濕的沙子和一把尺
- A watering can or a cup with small holes in the bottom一個澆花壺，或是底部戳了小洞的杯子
Steps · 步驟
- Build a steep mountain of sand at one end of the tray. Measure how tall it is.在托盤的一頭堆一座陡陡的沙山，量量看有多高。
- Make it rain gently over the peak for one minute. Measure the height again.在山頂上輕輕地下一分鐘的雨，再量一次高度。
- Look at where the sand went. Draw the shape it made at the foot of the mountain.看看沙子跑到哪裡去了，把它在山腳堆出來的形狀畫下來。
- Now add a spoonful of sand to the peak every ten seconds while it rains. Can you keep the mountain the same height?接著一邊下雨，一邊每十秒往山頂加一匙沙。你能讓山維持一樣高嗎？
The spoonfuls of sand are the push from below. When what you add equals what the rain removes, the mountain stops changing height, even though the sand in it keeps changing.
那一匙一匙的沙，就是從底下往上推的力量。加進去的和雨帶走的一樣多的時候，山就不再變高或變矮，雖然山裡的沙一直在換。
Sources · 資料出處
Facts and numbers on this page were checked against these sources (October 2026). · 本頁的事實與數字依下列資料查證（2026 年 10 月）。
- Taiwan formed about 4 to 5 million years ago at a convergent boundary between the Philippine Sea Plate and the Eurasian Plate; the Philippine Sea Plate converges at 7 cm a year toward the west-northwest; sediments have been compressed by around 200 km in the last 4 million years; the piled-up sediment is rising into mountains at 5 mm a year台灣約 400 至 500 萬年前形成於菲律賓海板塊與歐亞板塊的聚合邊界；菲律賓海板塊每年 7 公分向西北西聚合；過去 400 萬年沉積層被壓縮約 200 公里；堆起來的沉積物以每年 5 公釐升高成山Wikipedia, “Geology of Taiwan” ↗
- Taiwan as an example of mountain building by the collision of an island arc with a continent台灣是島弧與大陸碰撞造山的例子Wikipedia, “Orogeny” ↗
- The eastern two thirds of the island consists mostly of five rugged mountain ranges parallel to the east coast, the western third of plains where most people live; Yushan is 3,952 m本島東側三分之二主要是五條與東海岸平行的山脈，西側三分之一是多數人居住的平原；玉山高 3,952 公尺Wikipedia, “Geography of Taiwan” ↗
- Yushan, the highest mountain in Taiwan, 3,952.43 m玉山為台灣最高峰，3,952.43 公尺Wikipedia, “Yushan (mountain)” ↗
- There are 268 mountain peaks over 3,000 m on the island島上有 268 座超過 3,000 公尺的山峰Wikipedia, “List of mountains in Taiwan” ↗
- Taroko Gorge, carved by the Liwu River through marble太魯閣峽谷由立霧溪切穿大理岩而成Wikipedia, “Taroko National Park” ↗
- The Chi-Chi earthquake of September 21, 1999: a surface rupture about 100 km long, with vertical movement of up to 4 m1999 年 9 月 21 日集集大地震：地表破裂約 100 公里，垂直位移最大 4 公尺中央氣象署 地震百問 59 ↗
- Most earthquakes, volcanoes, and mountain building come from the interaction of neighboring plates大部分的地震、火山及造山運動是相鄰板塊互相作用的結果中央氣象署 地震百問 51 ↗
- The age of the Earth is about 4.54 billion years地球的年齡約 45.4 億年Wikipedia, “Age of Earth” ↗