The steepness of rivers in eastern Taiwan show consistent patterns with major neotectonic domain boundaries of the orogen.

The river steepness trend of eastern Taiwan (gray arrow) is similar to that of the active orogens, but shifts toward higher erosion rates. This “excessive erosion” may be related to the frequent landslides and debris flows that are typical of Taiwan.

Figures provided by J. Bruce H. Shyu, Department of Geosciences, National Taiwan University