TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Earlier this month, Terence K. Teo posted this three-dimensional map of Taiwan on Twitter, which visually represents densely populated areas with peaks.

The previous year, Teo (Twitter @researchremora) released a population density map showing Taiwan in its usual north-to-south orientation. After requests for a horizontal version to give a more balanced perspective, Teo obliged on Dec. 11 with an oblique version.

Although in the original vertical version Taipei appeared to tower over the rest of the country in terms of population density, the oblique version shows that the density in Taichung, Tainan, and Kaohsiung is also very high. In both maps, it is clear that the central and eastern areas of Taiwan are sparsely populated.

The primary reason for the concentration of people in the plains areas of western Taiwan is the fact that much of the rest of the country is covered by jagged mountains, greatly hindering the construction of large urban centers. In August of this year, Teo uploaded a shaded relief map which illustrates the mountainous areas of the country.

Population density map. (Terence K. Teo illustration)

Population density map. (Terence K. Teo illustration)

Shaded relief map. (Terence K. Teo illustration)