The is a

volcanic group A volcanic group, depending on context, is either (1) a group of related volcanoes in the form of volcanic fields, volcanic complexes and cone clusters, or (2) a stratigraphic group consisting of volcanic strata In geology and relate ...

of peaks arranged around the wide

caldera A caldera ( ) is a large cauldron-like hollow that forms shortly after the emptying of a magma chamber in a volcanic eruption. An eruption that ejects large volumes of magma over a short period of time can cause significant detriment to the str ...

Hokkaidō is the second-largest island of Japan and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by railway via the Seikan Tunnel. The ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. In the

Ainu language Ainu (, ), or more precisely Hokkaido Ainu (), is a language spoken by a few elderly members of the Ainu people on the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido. It is a member of the Ainu language family, itself considered a language family isola ...

it is known as ''Nutapukaushipe'' (which means "the mountain above the river"),Geographical Survey Institute website
, last access 1 July 2008. ''Nutaku Kamushupe'', or ''Optateske''. These peaks are the highest in Hokkaidō. The group lends its name to the

Daisetsuzan National Park , or Taisetsuzan is located in the mountainous center of the northern Geography of Japan, Japanese island of Hokkaido. At , Daisetsuzan is the largest national park in Japan, and is approximately the size of Kanagawa Prefecture. Daisetsuzan, mean ...

in which the volcanic group is located.

Geography

The volcanic group lies at the north end of the Daisetsu-Tokachi

graben In geology, a graben () is a depression (geology), depressed block of the Crust (geology), crust of a planet or moon, bordered by parallel normal faults. Etymology ''Graben'' is a loan word from German language, German, meaning 'ditch' or 't ...

on the

Kurile arc The Kuril Islands or Kurile Islands are a volcanic archipelago administered as part of Sakhalin Oblast in the Russian Far East. The islands stretch approximately northeast from Hokkaido in Japan to Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia, separating the ...

of the

Ring of Fire The Ring of Fire (also known as the Pacific Ring of Fire, the Rim of Fire, the Girdle of Fire or the Circum-Pacific belt) is a tectonic belt of volcanoes and earthquakes. It is about long and up to about wide, and surrounds most of the Pa ...

. The volcanic zone makes itself known through a number of

fumarole A fumarole (or fumerole) is a vent in the surface of the Earth or another rocky planet from which hot volcanic gases and vapors are emitted, without any accompanying liquids or solids. Fumaroles are characteristic of the late stages of volcani ...

s and natural

hot spring A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a Spring (hydrology), spring produced by the emergence of Geothermal activity, geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow ...

List of mountains by height

The following peaks make up the volcanic group:

References

Hokkaipedia, Daisetsuzan Mountains
last access 2 July 2008. * ''Teikoku's Complete Atlas of Japan'', Teikoku Shoin Co., Ltd, Tokyo 1990,

External links

- Japan Meteorological Agency
Taisetsuzan: National catalogue of the active volcanoes in Japan
- Japan Meteorological Agency

- Geological Survey of Japan
Taisetsuzan
- Smithsonian Institution: Global Volcanism Program Volcanoes of Hokkaido Natural monuments of Japan Volcanism of Japan Volcanic groups {{Hokkaido-geo-stub

Geography

List of mountains by height

See also

References

External links