The Queen's Head of Yehliu
On Taiwan's coast, a rock shaped like the head of an ancient queen stands on a thin neck of stone that grows thinner every year. One day, it will fall.
What was reported
The Yehliu cape, on the north coast of Taiwan, is covered with strange rock formations carved by the sea and wind: mushroom-shaped pillars, candles and rounded shapes. The most famous is the Queen's Head, a rock that looks like the profile of a woman with an elegant hairstyle, often compared to the Egyptian queen Nefertiti.
Its neck is slowly being worn away by wind and rain. It has thinned to a fraction of its former width, and experts expect the head will eventually break off.
Explanations offered
The formations are made of sandstone with harder layers on top, which erode more slowly, leaving shapes like mushrooms. Park authorities have made a replica of the Queen's Head, so that something will remain when she falls.
- When
- Shaped over thousands of years
- Where
- Yehliu Geopark, New Taipei, Taiwan
- Witnesses
- Millions of visitors
- Status
- Explained
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.
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