Tatun Volcano Group

The Tatun (Datun) group consists predominately of a series of andesitic lava domes in the northernmost part of Taiwan. About 20 volcanoes, the southernmost of which is only 15 km N of the capital city of Taipei, are included in the Tatun group, which was constructed along E-W and NE-SW trending ridges. The highest and youngest volcano is the Cising (Chisingshan) lava dome. Several magmatic eruptions took place in the group about 23,000 to 13,000 years ago, and a phreatic eruption associated with collapse of the lava dome, possibly closely following lava effusion, took place about 6,000 years ago. Hot springs, fumaroles, and solfataras are found over wide areas along a zone parallel to the SW-NE-trending Chinshan fault and extending to the NE coast of Taiwan, and extensive geothermal exploration has occurred at the Daiton geothermal area.