Chapter 1 : Location and Territory

Relative Location

     "Where is Taiwan?" Before we answer this question, please look at Figure 1-1. It is a classroom seating plan. We can tell from the figure that Yu-dun is sitting in the center. Consider his position in relation to the other students. Yu-dun sits south of Yu-lun, north of Yi-ting, west of Yan-ling, and east of Sheng-jie. This is Yu-dun¡¦s relative position.

        Now, you can see Taiwan¡¦s location in Figure 1-6. Taiwan is part of Asia. It is off the southeast coast of China, on the eastern edge of the Pacific Ocean, north of the Philippines, and southwest of the Ryukyu Islands. This is Taiwan¡¦s relative position.

Figure 1-1 The Seating Plan for Yu-dun's Classroom

Figure 1-6 Taiwan's Location and Territory

 

Absolute Location

        Look again at Figure 1-1. The lines and rows of the classroom form a grid. So we can also say that Yu-dun sits at the intersection of Line 4, Row 3. This is his ¡§absolute¡¨ position in the classroom. Suppose we draw another, much larger grid, on the surface of the earth. The horizontal ¡§rows¡¨ from east to west are called the parallels or lines of latitude. The vertical lines from north to south are called the meridians or lines of longitude. To make it easy to identify positions, every meridian and parallel is divided into sections, called degrees, just like the degrees in a circle. The number of degrees along a meridian is a latitude, and the number of degrees along a parallel is a longitude. The latitude and longitude of a place indicate the absolute position of that place.

        The central meridian that passes through the Royal Observatory at Greenwich, London, England is called the ¡§prime meridian.¡¨ The prime meridian is zero degrees longitude. It divides the Earth into two hemispheres. Longitudes in the eastern hemisphere are called east longitudes. Longitudes in the western hemisphere are west longitudes. East longitudes range from 0 to 180, and so do west longitudes. 180 degrees east is halfway around the earth from the prime meridian. 180 degrees west is also halfway around the earth, but in the opposite direction. In other words, 180 degrees east is the same meridian as 180 degrees west. (Figure 1-2)

Figure 1-2 Longitude and the Meridians

 

        Now, imagine a line on the surface of the Earth halfway between the North Pole and the South Pole. This line is the equator, which is zero degrees latitude. Every point on the equator is of equal distance to the North Pole and to the South Pole. The lines on the surface of the earth that parallel the equator are called parallels (Figure 1-3). The equator also divides the globe into two hemispheres, north and south. The latitude of the South Pole is 90 degrees south. The latitude of the North Pole is 90 degrees north.

 

Figure 1-3 Latitude and the Parallels

 

        The meridians and parallels intersect to create a coordinate grid. To know the exact location of a place, all you need is its longitude and latitude (Figure 1-4).

Figure 1-4 Meridians and Parallels; Longitudes and Latitudes

 

 

Time Zones    

        The earth makes one complete rotation on its axis every twenty-four hours. It spins from west to east. People in different places do not have sunrise or sunset at the same time. For convenience, we have divided the surface of the earth into twenty-four time zones (Figure 1-5). The time difference between two adjacent time zones is one hour. We can see from Figure 1-5 that noon in London is nightfall in Taiwan, and nightfall in Taiwan is the wee hours of the early morning in San Francisco, where people are having sweet dreams.

       

Figure 1-5 The activities of people in different time zones at the same moment in time

 

Territory and Administrative Divisions

        The territory of Taiwan includes the island of Taiwan and its outlying islands, the Penghu Archipelago (the Pescadores), the Diaoyutai Archipelago, Kinmen (Quemoy), Matsu, and islands in the South China Sea (Figure 1-6). The total area of Taiwan is approximately 36,000 square kilometers. Administrative jurisdictions include Taiwan Province, two special municipalities¡XTaipei City and Kaohsiung City¡XKinmen County, located in Fuchien Province, and Matsu, located in Lienchiang County, Fuchien Province. Under the jurisdiction of Taiwan Province, there are sixteen counties and five provincial municipalities (Figure 1-7). The levels of administrative jurisdiction are displayed in Diagram 1-1.

Figure 1-7 Taiwan¡¦s Administrative Divisions