Erosion winning the battle of Queen’s Head rock
Print Edition
QUEEN’S Head rock at Yehliu Geopark on Taiwan’s north coast faces an uncertain future as work to protect it from marine erosion has proved unsuccessful.
The rock, said to resemble Queen Elizabeth I’s profile, attracted around 3 million visitors last year.
The “neck” of the mushroom-shaped rock is now 126 centimeters in circumference at its narrowest part, when it was 139cm in 2008, said Tang Helena, assistant general manager of Neo-Space International Inc, which manages the geopark.
“In addition to being battered by sea water and wind, the fragile neck is at risk from typhoons and earthquakes,” she said.
In the past decade a circle of stones was installed to prevent visitors from touching the sandstone formation. Before 2006, this was a regular occurrence.
Meanwhile, authorities are exploring modern systems to protect the natural formation. Options including a glass cabinet and a steel rib were rejected as they might have added to damage brought by typhoons and earthquakes, Tang said.
In the past two years, the authorities tried a new kind of paint, to slow erosion and strengthen the formation. The paint was applied to one formation in the park as a test.
Although it worked well, the test area turned a shade of white, due to moisture generated from within the rock, making it stand out among the other formations.
“The paint is a bit like cosmetics,” Tang said, “which means the rock looks unnatural.”
The result of the experiment does not bode well for some 180 mushroom-shaped rocks. “We are not giving up,” said Tang, who said that the research would continue.
However, it is not all bad news for the park and visitors.
On January 20, 2010, one formation created a profile like a princess after a part of it broke off. The new landmark was named Cute Princess following an online poll.
Though Queen’s Head remains a top choice for visitors among the rocks, Cute Princess is gaining in popularity, too.
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