Whale Cave — Attraction in Xiyu Township

The time I visited was around March-April, 2020, and it was during the off season, when Covid was coming down from its peak here in Taiwan. However, the shore near the rocks down the cliff was full of garbage; I was quite appalled by how poorly kept the tourist spot was. We tried to take pictures around the littered area, but it was sad that there was so much trash lying around. We were guessing that maybe because it was during off season that the area was poorly maintained, because ever since, tourism has boomed over at Penghu and it seems that the trash has been taken care off (hopefully). Aside from that, the site was really lovely for pictures, with the whale cave and the...

鯨魚洞位臺灣澎湖縣西嶼鄉小門嶼西北海岸，屬柱狀玄武岩。柱狀玄武岩在海崖上，因海蝕作用形成一個巨型大洞，當地稱為「籠」。 相傳該洞形成原因係由鯨魚所撞，故賦名「鯨魚洞」。

• 鯨魚洞原為一玄武岩地形，後經海蝕作用，貫穿為一道海蝕拱門。 • 高約7.8公尺，退潮時，能進洞內觀潮聽濤；潮大時，可欣賞巨浪拍打洞口的景象。 • 鯨魚洞東側現有兩根海蝕柱，原為海蝕拱門，因頂上玄武岩崩塌而成。 • 在柱狀玄武岩下方，有一層淺灰質砂岩層，兩層之間夾著厚約10公分的煤層，屬劣質泥炭，混有木炭碎片及摻雜灰色黏土。形成原因為潮水將外地植物帶來這裡堆積，被玄武岩覆蓋，經地層變動後生成。

Whale Cave is located on the northwest coast of Xiaomen Island, Xiyu Township, Penghu County, Taiwan. It is a columnar basalt. The columnar basalt is on the sea cliff. Due to sea erosion, a huge cave is formed, which is called "cage" locally. According to legend, the reason for the formation of the cave was hit by a whale, so it was named "Whale Cave."

• The Whale Cave was originally a basalt topography, and after sea erosion, it penetrated into a sea erosion arch. • The height is about 7.8 meters. When the tide is low, you can enter the cave to watch the tide and listen to the waves; when the tide is high, you can enjoy the scene of the huge waves hitting the entrance of the cave. • There are two sea-eroded pillars on the east side of Whale Cave, which were originally sea-eroded arches formed by the collapse of basalt on the top. • Below the columnar basalt, there is a layer of light gray sandstone, between the two layers is a coal seam about 10 cm thick, which is inferior peat, mixed with charcoal fragments and doped with gray clay. The reason for the formation is that the tide water brings the foreign plants here and accumulates them, which are covered by basalt and formed after...

This is probably one of my favorite areas in Penghu main islands. It’s easy to get to and is pretty big, more than just the actual whale cave. I like to come here when it’s not so busy because then it’s a good place to walk around, enjoy the scenery, and relax. One very unfortunate thing, however, is that this area picks up a lot of rubbish from the ocean. Wish there could be an organized monthly cleanup or something to take care of it. Other than that, definitely worth a stop to...