Clearwater Valley 清水溪 Caoling Lake 新草嶺潭 🇹🇼 (2020-10) {aerial}

Impressions from Clearwater Gorge 清水溪, Gukeng Township, Yunlin County, Taiwan.

The valley has been visited by me in 2002, 2006 and 2020. It is a bit off the beaten track but definitely worth a visit. Big changes were observed over the period of time. An earthquake triggered a landslide 01:47:12.6 TST on Tuesday, 21 September 1999 (Jiji earthquake). The huge landslide created a dam blocking the flow of Clearwater river and consequently a temporary reservoir developed, known as New Caoling Lake. The lake was still quite large in 2002. Local tourism adapted to the new situation of having a mountain lake close to Caoling village. Boat tours were provided for visitors. The Water Curtain Cave 水濂洞 was a stop point of the cruise. This video includes some photographs of the lake at that time. Obviously, a cable car had been crossing Clearwater Vally from Chiayi County to Yunlin County prior to the earthquake. The abandoned gondola was still visible high above the valley in 2002. 2006 it had disappeared though same as the lake. The lake finally disappeared during a flood caused by Typhoon Mindulle in July 2004

I would be interested to hear from viewers something about the cable car's history. When was it built, where were the stations, and are there any remains? At nearby Penglai Waterfall 蓬萊瀑布 some parts of the infrastructure of the cable car there can still be found. Service discontinued after the earthquake as well.

Caoling area's landscape was altered several times in the past. Temporary lakes developed due to earthquake triggered landslides and disappeared when the dams were eroded..

#caoling #lake #valley #mountain #geopark #earthquake #landslide #scenery #landscape #aerial #uav #drone #GukengTownship #YunlinCounty #taiwan

Music:
Psychic Magic by Unicorn Heads
Houston Vibes Score by Unicorn Heads
from Youtube audio library