Geography of Taiwan Geography of Taiwan Taiwan, formerly known as Formosa, is an island in East Asia; located some off the southeastern coast of mainland China across the Taiwan Strait. It has an area of , which includes other nearby islands such as Penghu (). The East China Sea lies to the north, the Philippine Sea to the east, the Luzon Strait directly to the south and the South China Sea to the southwest. The island makes up 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China, which is also known as "Taiwan". Taiwan is a tilted fault block, characterized by the
Green Island, Taiwan Green Island, Taiwan Green Island (Mandarin Pīnyīn: "Lǜ Dǎo"; Hokkien POJ: "Le̍k-tó") is a small volcanic island in the Pacific Ocean about off the eastern coast of Taiwan. It is at high tide and at low tide, making it the Republic of China's seventh-largest island. The island is administered as , a rural township of Taitung County and one of the county's two offshore areas (the other being Orchid Island). The island once served as a penal colony for political prisoners during Taiwan's period of martial law, although today it is primarily known as a tourist hotspot. The name "Green