Yehliu (Chinese: 野柳) is a cape in Wanli District (萬里區), New Taipei City (新北市), Taiwan. The cape, known by geologists as the Yehliu Promontory, forms part of the Daliao Miocene Formation, such a peculiar rock formation makes Yehliu a popular tourist attraction in Taiwan.
Yehliu stretches approximately 1,700 metres into the ocean and was formed as geological forces pushed the Datun Mountains (大屯山) out of the sea.
An orange dotted line is drawn on the rock offshore, and it is strictly forbidden for tourists to cross for safety purposes.
Hoodoo (Tent rock) is the most distinctive feature of Yehliu. Some rock formations have been given imaginative names based on their shapes.
It was said that the name of Yeliu originated from its old Spanish name ‘Punto Diablos’ (Devil's Headland). Then the locals skipped ‘Punto’ and the consonants ‘d’ and ‘b’, named it ‘iá-liú’, which was pronounced like ‘Yeliu’.
Besides peculiar rock formations, there are many other geological landscapes such as sea erosion platforms, sea caves and sea erosion cracks in Yeliu, which is an ideal location for geographical investigation.
The best known rock formation in Yeliu is the ‘Queen's Head’ (女王頭), an iconic image in Taiwan and an unofficial emblem for the town of Wanli.
According to some geologists, the neck of ‘Queen's Head’ has been weathered at a rate of 0.2 to 0.5 cm per year. It is expected to break in the next few years or by the next earthquake.
