• Journal of the Korean association of regional geographers
• /
• v.13 no.4
• /
• pp.422-437
• /
• 2007

Dokdo has historical and political meaning in relation to the territorial problems with Japan. The area can be the main factor to explain the formation and development process of East-Sea as exposure volcanic island at East-Sea with Ulreong-island. Accordingly, it also has an important meaning of physical geography aspects In this research, it is perceived the geomorphological development process of slope due to the salt weathering which is considered as the most important factor to understand whole geomorphology of Dokdo. And researched how a geomorphology of this sort affects to animal and plants. The peculiar geomorphology is tafoni which is a weathering geomorphology and one of the remarkable geomorphology in preservation of Dokdo. Tafoni at west part of Dongdo is distributed intensively near shoreline which is composed tuff. The shape of tafoni is mainly massive, circle and oval in Massive tuff breccia layer also is formed toward horizontality bedding direction in Bedded lapilli tuff. Tafoni in Dokdo is constituted after middle of Holocene. This fact can be proved by ranging at surface of sea-cliff which is formed wave erosion after middle of Holocene sea-level reaching to present level. Tafoni is also the most contribute factor of geomorphology dissection of Dokdo as it is eroded the bed rock with salt weathering. In bottom part of tafoni it has an important function for habitat of birds. Herbaceous plants are on it. To procrastinate of bed rock dissection by growth of Tafoni, conservation of vegetation and soil are most important factor.