(Source: Yangmingshan National Park Headquarters)

Datun Mountain

The conical Datun Mountain was formed about 500,000 years ago. It runs from the north to south with steep gradient at all sides. A river running through the mountain forms many river valleys. The major rock type of the mountain is the hornblende andesite porphyry consisting of a mixture of pyroxene and hypersthene. The main peak is 1081 m above sea level, an ideal spot for watching the sunset and enjoying Chinese silvergrass in autumn. There are four small peaks on top surrounding the low-lying marshland at the center, Datunping. Caigongkeng Mountain, a parasitic conical volcano, in the north is famous for its reverse compass stone. It is named this way because of the large deviation caused to compasses due to magnetite in the stone. The tholoidic Miantian Mountain and Siangtian Mountain formed a saddle-shaped volcano with a complete funnel-shape created to the west of its peak, which is called Siangtian Pond. The south peak of Datun Mountain is a conical volcano without visible craters on top. A fault runs across its west face