# Gaoping River

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{{Infobox river
| name               = Gaoping River
| name_native        = {{native name|zh-Hant|高屏溪}}
| name_native_lang   = 
| name_other         = 
| name_etymology     = 
<!---------------------- IMAGE & MAP -->
| image              = Old_Railway_Bridge_Across_Kao-Ping_River.jpg
| image_size         = 
| image_caption      = Shimo-Tansui Railway Bridge (Old Kaoping River Iron Bridge) across the lower Gaoping River
| map                = Gaopingrivermap.png
| map_size           = 
| map_caption        = Location of the Gaoping River basin in southern Taiwan
| pushpin_map        = 
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<!---------------------- LOCATION -->
| subdivision_type1  = Country
| subdivision_name1  = [Taiwan](/source/Taiwan)
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<!---------------------- PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS -->
| length             = {{convert|184|km|mi|abbr=on}}<ref name=Gaoping/>  
| width_min          = 
| width_avg          = 
| width_max          = 
| depth_min          = 
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| discharge1_location= Liling Bridge (daily means)<ref name=Gaoping/>
| discharge1_min     = {{convert|9|m3/s|cuft/s|abbr=on}}
| discharge1_avg     = {{convert|268|m3/s|cuft/s|abbr=on}}<ref name=Gaoping/>
| discharge1_max     = {{convert|15251|m3/s|cuft/s|abbr=on}}
<!---------------------- BASIN FEATURES -->
| source1            = [Yushan](/source/Yushan_(mountain))
| source1_location   = 
| source1_coordinates= {{coord|23|28|29|N|120|02|15|E|display=inline}}
| source1_elevation  = {{convert|3400|m|abbr=on}}
| mouth              = [Taiwan Strait](/source/Taiwan_Strait)
| mouth_location     = [Linyuan District](/source/Linyuan_District), [Kaohsiung City](/source/Kaohsiung_City)
| mouth_coordinates  = {{coord|22|28|59|N|120|34|47|E|display=inline,title}}
| mouth_elevation    = {{convert|0|m|abbr=on}}
| progression        = 
| river_system       = 
| basin_size         = {{convert|3257|km2|abbr=on}}
| tributaries_left   = 
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}}

The '''Gaoping River''', also spelled '''Kaoping River''' ({{zh|t=高屏溪|hp=Gāopíng Xī|w=Kao<sup>1</sup>-p'ing<sup>2</sup> Hsi<sup>1</sup>}}),<ref>{{cite web |url=http://geonames.nga.mil/namesviewer/ |title=GeoNames Search |work=Geographic Names Database |publisher=National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, USA |access-date=12 June 2016}}</ref> is the second longest river in [Taiwan](/source/Taiwan) after [Zhuoshui River](/source/Zhuoshui_River) with a total length of {{cvt|184|km|abbr=on}}. It is located on the southern part of the island, flowing through [Pingtung County](/source/Pingtung_County) and [Kaohsiung City](/source/Kaohsiung_City). It is the largest river in Taiwan by drainage area.<ref name="Liu et al 2016"/> Draining a rugged area on the western side of the [Central Mountain Range](/source/Central_Mountain_Range).<ref name=Gaoping/>

==Characteristics==
The Gaoping River [headwaters](/source/headwaters) originate near [Yushan](/source/Yushan_(mountain))<ref name="Liu et al 2016"/> in northern [Kaohsiung](/source/Kaohsiung)’s [Tauyuan District](/source/Tauyuan_District) and a small part of southern [Nantou County](/source/Nantou_County). The upper section of the river, known as the [Laonong](/source/Laonong_River), flows through a series of rugged canyons, through [Liouguei](/source/Liouguei_District) and [Gaoshu](/source/Gaushu_Township), and is joined by the [Zhuokou River](/source/Zhuokou_River). The Laonong emerges from the mountains at [Meinong](/source/Meinong_District) as a wide [braided stream](/source/braided_stream) and after being joined by the [Ailiao](/source/Ailiao_River) from the east, the Gaoping proper is formed, which flows about {{convert|50|km|mi}} south along the coastal plain, through [Pingtung County](/source/Pingtung_County), emptying into the [Taiwan Strait](/source/Taiwan_Strait) in [Linyuan District](/source/Linyuan_District). The [Qishan River](/source/Qishan_River) and the [Wuluo River](/source/Wuluo_River) flow into the lower section of the Gaoping from north and east, respectively.

thumb|left|Headwaters of the Gaoping River
With an average annual discharge of {{convert|8.45|km3|acre feet}}, the Gaoping River is the second largest of Taiwan’s rivers by volume, following the [Tamsui River](/source/Tamsui_River). About 90&nbsp;percent of the precipitation, and consequently about 70–90&nbsp;percent of the total flow, occurs during the rainy season from May to October.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.trrn.tw/understandingRiver/view.do?id=12ce3264699000001c8a |title=Gaoping River |year=2013 |publisher=Taichung River Restoration Network |access-date=2014-09-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402193632/http://www.trrn.tw/understandingRiver/view.do?id=12ce3264699000001c8a |archive-date=2015-04-02 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Like many Taiwanese rivers, the Gaoping carries large amounts of silt, ranging from 36 to 49 million tons per year;<ref name="Huh et al. 2009"/> it is the second largest river  in Taiwan (after the [Zhuoshui River](/source/Zhuoshui_River)) in terms of suspended-sediment load.<ref name="Liu et al 2016"/>

Almost half the total basin has an elevation greater than {{convert|1000|m|ft}}. Only about 20&nbsp;percent of the basin is lower than {{convert|100|m|ft}} in elevation.<ref name="flooding"/><ref name="Liu et al 2016"/> The Kaoping River valley is generally considered the boundary between the [Alishan Range](/source/Alishan_Range) on the west and the higher [Yushan Range](/source/Yushan_Range) to the east.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Robert Kelly|author2=Chung Wah Chow|title=Lonely Planet Taiwan|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vxjbAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT769|date=1 February 2014|publisher=Lonely Planet Publications|isbn=978-1-74321-835-8|pages=769}}</ref>

The Gaoping River basin is home to at least 66 fish species, 14 of which are [endemic](/source/Endemic_species).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ics.wrap.gov.tw/icsweb/ekriver1730.asp |title=Investigation of Current Status in Gaoping River System |date=April 2007 |publisher=The 7th River Management Office, WRA, MOEA |access-date=2014-09-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208032908/http://ics.wrap.gov.tw/icsweb/ekriver1730.asp |archive-date=2015-12-08 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Cyprinid fish ''Opsariichthys kaopingensis'' is named after the river.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Chen |first1=I-Shiung |last2=Wu |first2=Jui-Hsien |last3=Huang |first3=Shih-Pin |chapter=The taxonomy and phylogeny of the cyprinid genus Opsariichthys Bleeker (Teleostei: Cyprinidae) from Taiwan, with description of a new species |title=Chinese Fishes |journal=Environmental Biology of Fishes |series=Developments in Environmental Biology of Fishes |date=2009 |volume=86 |pages=165–183 |doi=10.1007/978-90-481-3458-8_25|isbn=978-90-481-3457-1 }}</ref>

==History==
During [Japanese rule](/source/Taiwan_under_Japanese_rule) the Gaoping River was known as the {{nihongo||下淡水溪|Shimo Tansui-kei}}. The Japanese colonial government built the Shimo-Tansui Railway Bridge (now known as the Old Gaoping River Iron Bridge), at the time the longest iron bridge in Asia. The bridge was designed by engineer {{nihongo4|Toyoji Īda|飯田豊二}}. Due to the unpredictable nature of the river the bridge took eight years to complete, at the cost of 42 lives.<ref>{{cite book|author=Professor Izumi Kuroishi|title=Constructing the Colonized Land: Entwined Perspectives of East Asia around WWII|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sqj8AgAAQBAJ&pg=SA4-PA28|date=28 March 2014|publisher=Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.|isbn=978-1-4724-0436-7|pages=4}}</ref>

On August 27, 2000, flooding damaged a bridge across the Gaoping River causing 16 vehicles to fall into the water, injuring 22 people.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Gangbing Song|author2=Ramesh B. Malla|title=Earth and Space 2010: Engineering, Science, Construction, and Operations in Challenging Environments|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vUjr2AlqpoQC&pg=PA2568|date=1 April 2010|publisher=ASCE Publications|isbn=978-0-7844-1096-7|pages=2568}}</ref>

In 2009 [Typhoon Morakot](/source/Typhoon_Morakot) caused severe flooding along the Gaoping River. About {{convert|3|m|in}} of rain (one year’s typical precipitation) fell over the Gaoping River basin in a period of three days.<ref name="flooding"/> The river flow peaked at {{convert|27447|m3/s|cuft/s}} on August 8, and exceeded {{convert|20000|m3/s|cuft/s}} for a total of nine hours.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Carter|first1=L.|last2=Milliman|first2=J. D.|last3=Talling|first3=P. J.|last4=Gavey|first4=R.|last5=Wynn|first5=R. B. |year=2012 |title=Near-synchronous and delayed initiation of long run-out submarine sediment flows from a record-breaking river flood, offshore Taiwan |journal=Geophysical Research Letters |volume=39 |issue=12 |pages=L12603 |doi=10.1029/2012GL051172 |url=https://scholarworks.wm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2316&context=vimsarticles|doi-access=free|bibcode=2012GeoRL..3912603C }}</ref> Several towns along the upper river were destroyed by flooding and landslides, killing up to 500 people.<ref name="Otto-Zimmermann2012">{{cite book|author=Konrad Otto-Zimmermann|title=Resilient Cities 2: Cities and Adaptation to Climate Change – Proceedings of the Global Forum 2011|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JOTkV17GayUC&pg=PA78|date=4 May 2012|publisher=Springer Science & Business Media|isbn=978-94-007-4223-9|pages=78}}</ref> The flow of the river was so strong that it created currents of up to {{convert|60|km|mi}} per hour in the Taiwan Strait, damaging or destroying eight [submarine cables](/source/Submarine_communications_cable).<ref>{{cite book|author1=Douglas R. Burnett|author2=Robert Beckman|author3=Tara M. Davenport|title=Submarine Cables: The Handbook of Law and Policy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LQDXAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA244|date=24 October 2013|publisher=Martinus Nijhoff Publishers|isbn=978-90-04-26033-7|pages=244}}</ref>

==Human use==
thumb|right|The Laonong River tributary in Liouguei, where it would have been diverted to the proposed Meinong Reservoir
The Gaoping is one of the few rivers in western Taiwan without a major dam in its basin. However, the river is used extensively for irrigation on the Pingtung plain and its tributaries supply water for domestic and industrial use. The [Qishan River](/source/Qishan_River) tributary is diverted to fill [Nanhua Reservoir](/source/Nanhua_Dam), which provides nearly 90% of the water supply for [Kaohsiung City](/source/Kaohsiung_City).<ref name="Otto-Zimmermann2012"/>

In the 1950s the Meinong Dam was proposed as a water supply project for Kaohsiung City. It would have consisted of a large off-stream reservoir in the northern part of [Meinong District](/source/Meinong_District), with a storage capacity of 328 million m<sup>3</sup> (266,000 acre feet) and an annual water yield of 46.2 million m<sup>3</sup> (37,400 acre feet). The water would be diverted from the Laonong segment of the Gaoping River within [Liouguei District](/source/Liouguei_District%2C_Kaohsiung) and transported to the reservoir via a tunnel.<ref>{{cite web |language= zh-tw |url= http://www.twtimes.com.tw/index.php?page=news&nid=487034 |title= 美濃水庫始末 |publisher= 臺灣時報 |date= 2015-05-09 |access-date= 2018-07-02 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180703081415/http://www.twtimes.com.tw/index.php?page=news&nid=487034 |archive-date= 2018-07-03 |url-status= dead }}</ref> The project was officially overturned in 2000 by then-President [Chen Shui-bian](/source/Chen_Shui-bian), who stated, “As long as there are alternative ways to supply water to the greater Kaohsiung area, it is not necessary to build the Meinung {{sic}} Dam.”<ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2000/08/06/0000046635 |title= President Chen shelves Meinung Dam project |newspaper= Taipei Times |date=6 August 2000 |author= Cheryl Lai }}</ref> The dam would have flooded an area culturally significant to the [Hakka people](/source/Hakka_people).<ref>{{cite web |url= http://taiwaninfo.nat.gov.tw/ct.asp?xItem=18185&CtNode=103&htx_TRCategory=&mp=4 |title= Water demand vs. environmental protection |date= 1 September 2000 |author= Myra Lu |work= Taiwan Info |publisher= Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of China (Taiwan) |access-date= 5 September 2014 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20151207235903/http://taiwaninfo.nat.gov.tw/ct.asp?xItem=18185&CtNode=103&htx_TRCategory=&mp=4 |archive-date= 7 December 2015 |url-status= dead }}</ref>

The lower part of the river is heavily polluted by runoff from factories and livestock operations, especially from pigs and chickens. A significant amount of contamination originates from the [Wuluo River](/source/Wuluo_River) tributary. Up to 65% of the pollution is caused by runoff from swine farms, with another 21% from industry, 13% from domestic waste and 2% from [landfill](/source/landfill)s.<ref>{{cite book|author-link1=Liu Tsui-jung|author=Tsui-jung Liu|title=Environmental History in East Asia: Interdisciplinary Perspectives|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SRpgAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT416|date=16 April 2014|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-1-317-97489-5|pages=416}}</ref>

==Transportation==
[[Image:Ddm 2004 030 Kaoping River.jpg|thumb|left|[TRA](/source/Taiwan_Railway_Administration) bridge crossing the Gaoping River]]
[Provincial Highway No. 20](/source/Southern_Cross-Island_Highway), which provides access between Pingtung County and [Taitung County](/source/Taitung_County), follows the Gaoping River for about {{convert|40|km|mi}} between [Liouguei](/source/Liouguei_District) and [Haiduan Township](/source/Haiduan%2C_Taitung).

The [Ligang Cable-Stayed Bridge](/source/Ligang_Bridge) crosses the Gaoping on [Freeway 3](/source/Freeway_3_(Taiwan)) (Second Southern Freeway) from [Kaohsiung](/source/Kaohsiung) to [Pingtung County](/source/Pingtung_County).

==Bridges==
* [Kao-Ping Hsi Bridge](/source/Kao-Ping_Hsi_Bridge)
* [Ligang Bridge](/source/Ligang_Bridge)

==Tributaries==
The main tributaries, from upstream to downstream, are:<ref name=Gaoping/>
*[Laonong River](/source/Laonong_River) – Kaohsiung City – 136&nbsp;km
**[Zhuokou River](/source/Zhuokou_River) – Kaohsiung City – 50&nbsp;km
*[Ailiao River](/source/Ailiao_River) – Kaohsiung City, Pingtung County – 67&nbsp;km
*[Qishan River](/source/Qishan_River) – Kaohsiung City, Pingtung County – 117&nbsp;km
*[Wuluo River](/source/Wuluo_River) – Pingtung County
<!--*[Kumai River](/source/Kumai_River) - Kaohsiung City - 48&nbsp;km-->

==See also==
*[List of rivers in Taiwan](/source/List_of_rivers_in_Taiwan)

==References==
{{Reflist|30em|refs=
<ref name=Gaoping>{{cite web |language=zh-tw |url=http://kpriver.com.tw/file/98.pdf |title=98年高屏溪流域管理工作執行年報 |publisher=Gaoping River Basin Management Committee |date=October 2010 |access-date=12 June 2016 |archive-date=4 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304101735/http://kpriver.com.tw/file/98.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>

<ref name="flooding">{{cite journal|last1=Chu |first1=Hone-Jay |last2=Pan |first2=Tsung-Yi |last3=Liou |first3=Jun-Jih |year=2011 |title=Extreme Precipitation Estimation with Typhoon Morakot Using Frequency and Spatial Analysis |journal=Terrestrial, Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences |volume=22 |issue=6 |pages=549–558 |doi=10.3319/TAO.2011.05.10.02(TM) |doi-access=free |bibcode=2011TAOS...22..549C }}</ref>

<ref name="Huh et al. 2009">{{cite journal|last1=Huh|first1=Chih-An|last2=Lin|first2=Hui-Ling|last3=Lin|first3=Saulwood|last4=Huang|first4=Ya-Wen |year=2009 |title=Modern accumulation rates and a budget of sediment off the Gaoping (Kaoping) River, SW Taiwan: A tidal and flood dominated depositional environment around a submarine canyon|journal=Journal of Marine Systems |volume=76 |issue=4 |pages=405–416 |doi=10.1016/j.jmarsys.2007.07.009|bibcode=2009JMS....76..405H |url=http://ntur.lib.ntu.edu.tw//handle/246246/173693 |url-access=subscription}}</ref>

<ref name="Liu et al 2016">{{cite journal|last1=Liu|first1=James T.|last2=Hsu|first2=Ray T.|last3=Hung|first3=Jia-Jang|last4=Chang|first4=Yuan-Pin|last5=Wang|first5=Yu-Huai|last6=Rendle-Bühring|first6=Rebecca H.|last7=Lee|first7=Chon-Lin|last8=Huh|first8=Chih-An|last9=Yang|first9=Rick J. |year=2016 |title=From the highest to the deepest: The Gaoping River–Gaoping Submarine Canyon dispersal system |journal=Earth-Science Reviews |volume=153 |pages=274–300 |doi=10.1016/j.earscirev.2015.10.012|bibcode=2016ESRv..153..274L }}</ref>
}}

{{Commons category}}

Category:Rivers of Taiwan
Category:Landforms of Kaohsiung
Category:Landforms of Pingtung County

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Gaoping River](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaoping_River) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaoping_River?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.