Huadong Valley

Huadong Valley
The Huadong Valley (in green) between the Central Mountain Range and the Coastal Mountain Range
Length	180 km (110 mi)
Geology
Type	Valley
Geography
Location	Taiwan
Coordinates	23°26′24″N 121°21′43″E / 23.439959°N 121.362076°E / 23.439959; 121.362076

The Huadong Valley or Hualien–Taitung Valley (Chinese: 花東縱谷; pinyin: Huādōng Zònggǔ; Wade–Giles: Hua¹-tung¹ Tsung⁴-ku³), also known as East Rift Valley, the Longitudinal Valley or as the Nakasendō Plain (中仙道平野, Nakasendō Heiya) during the era of Japanese rule, is a long and narrow valley located between the Central Mountain Range and the Coastal Mountain Range of eastern Taiwan, stretching about 180 km (110 mi) from Hualien City at the north to Taitung City at the south..^[1]

The valley is believed to be part of the northern terminus of the Philippine Mobile Belt, a complex collection of tectonic plate fragments and volcanic intrusions. The valley is formed by the alluvial plains of three large river systems, namely the Hualien River, Xiuguluan River and Beinan River, all of which flow into the Pacific Ocean.

The Huadong Highway, a section of Provincial Highway No. 9, runs the entire length of the valley from north to south.