Jeju Volcanic Island and Lava Tubes

A central feature of Jeju is Hallasan, the tallest mountain in South Korea and a dormant volcano, which rises 1,950 meters above sea level. The main volcano includes 360 satellite volcanoes. Volcanic activity on Jeju began approximately in the Cretaceous and lasted until the early Tertiary period. The most recent eruptions are estimated to be about 5,000 years ago, which puts the volcano into the active classification, meaning eruptions in the last 10,000 years.{{cite web |url=http://volcano.si.edu/gvp_about.cfm |title=About Global Volcanism Program |publisher=Smithsonian Institution |date=2013 |accessdate=September 1, 2015}}{{cite news |url=http://www.jejuweekly.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=4391 |title='There could be volcanic activity, but we don't know': Jeju younger than previously thought, highlights dearth of knowledge about Mt. Hallasan |newspaper=The Jeju Weekly |date=September 25, 2014 |accessdate=September 1, 2015 |author=Park, Yea Eun |archive-date=July 17, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180717183615/http://www.jejuweekly.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=4391 |url-status=dead }} The designation as active is not agreed by all, as more monitoring and study are needed to better understand the volcano.

According to UNESCO, the Geomunoreum Lava Tube System is regarded as the finest lava tube cave system in the world. It has a significant series of stalactites and other mineral formations that are considered visually impressive.

{{main|Hallasan National Park}}

Hallasan is located in the central part of the island. Since 1966, any area 800 meters above sea level has been designated as a nature reserve. The park is mostly unspoilt nature with hiking paths and park managerial facilities being the only man-made modifications in the area.

The flora at the Mt. Halla National Park is unique. 1,565 vascular plant species have been recorded in the area thus far and is the highest number of plants in any mountain, 33 which are endemic to the island. Unlike most other Korean mountain environments, Hallsan has a unique vertical distribution of plants in three different zones: the subtropic, temperate, and frigid zones.

Over 17 mammals, 198 types of birds, 8 types of amphibians, 8 types of reptiles, and 947 insect species have been catalogued in the nature reserve. Endangered species include the Capreolus capreolus pygargus and Felis bengalensis manchuria, and a resident population of Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins and finless porpoises.{{cite web|author=황주찬|year=2014|title=낚시꾼들에겐 찬밥이지만 '귀하신' 몸입니다|url=http://blog.ohmynews.com/yshjc/521864|accessdate=2015-01-11|archive-date=2015-01-15|archive-url=https://archive.today/20150115123556/http://blog.ohmynews.com/yshjc/521864|url-status=dead}} Historically, the island and adjacent waters had been migration colliders and resting areas for large whales such as western gray whales, North Pacific right whales,{{Cite web |url=http://www.registrelep-sararegistry.gc.ca/document/doc1850f/p1_e.cfm |title=Recovery Strategy for the North Pacific Right Whale in Pacific Canadian Waters |date=2011-04-27 |website=Species at Risk Public Registry}} humpback whales, blue whales and fin whales.{{Cite journal | doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0034905| pmid=22558102| pmc=3338773|title = Spatial and Seasonal Distribution of American Whaling and Whales in the Age of Sail| journal=PLOS ONE| volume=7| issue=4| pages=e34905|year = 2012|last1 = Smith|first1 = Tim D.| last2=Reeves| first2=Randall R.| last3=Josephson| first3=Elizabeth A.| last4=Lund| first4=Judith N.| bibcode=2012PLoSO...734905S| doi-access=free}} Now possibly extinct Japanese sea lions might have colonized on the island as well. Some pinnipeds still occur occasionally. Since the island was last connected to the Korean Peninsula 10,000 years ago, animals endemic to the island appeared at that time and this separation from the mainland is also of biological significance.

A famous part of the Mt. Halla Nature Reserve is the Pillemot Cave, a site dating to the Paleolithic period. The caves are significant because of the archaeological remains found there. Archaeological evidence from the cave suggests that people have occupied the island since the Paleolithic period.

• World Heritage Sites in South Korea
• UNESCO World Heritage Site

{{Reflist}}

• [https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1264 Jeju Volcanic Island and Lava Tubes, UNESCO]
• [https://artsandculture.google.com/story/jeju-volcanic-island-and-lava-tubes/xQISWFnBDOBRKg Explore Jeju Volcanic Island and Lava Tubes in the UNESCO collection on Google Arts and Culture]
• [http://www.cha.go.kr/english/heritage_book/world_heritage.pdf World Heritage in Korea] (pdf)

{{World Heritage Sites in the Republic of Korea}}

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Category:Lava tubes

Category:Caves of Jeju Province

Category:World Heritage Sites in South Korea

Category:Geography of Northeast Asia