, is a cluster of five
volcanic lakes
A volcanogenic lake is a lake formed as a result of volcanic activity. They are generally a body of water inside an inactive volcanic crater ( crater lakes) but can also be large volumes of molten lava within an active volcanic crater ( lava lake ...
situated at the foot of
Mount Bandai in the center of the lake district of the
Bandai Highland (
磐梯高原, Bandai-kōgen),
Kitashiobara, Fukushima, Japan.
Goshiki-numa formed when Mount Bandai
erupted on July 15, 1888, destroying dozens of villages and killing approximately 500 people while creating hundreds of lakes and
tarns.
The eruption completely rearranged the landscape, creating the Bandai-kōgen plateau and damming local rivers. The eruption imparted mineral deposits to the Five Colored Lakes giving each of them its own distinct color, ranging from reddish green to
cobalt blue
Cobalt blue is a blue pigment made by sintering cobalt(II) oxide with aluminium(III) oxide (alumina) at 1200 °C. Chemically, cobalt blue pigment is cobalt(II) oxide-aluminium oxide, or cobalt(II) aluminate, CoAl2O4. Cobalt blue is lighte ...
. The colors of each lake mysteriously fluctuate throughout the year with the weather. Since the eruption, Goshiki-numa has become a popular tourist destination. An approximately four-kilometer walking path from Lake Bishamon, the largest of the five lakes, to
Lake Hibara affords people a view of all five lakes.
[Takeda T., page 174.]
Gallery
file:Bishamon-numa Pond.JPG, Bishamon-numa
file:Aka-numa Pond.JPG, Aka-numa
file:Ao-numa Pond.JPG, Ao-numa
file:Benten-numa Pond.JPG, Benten-numa
file:Midoro-numa Pond.JPG, Midoro-numa
See also
*
Goshiki-numa in the
Zaō Mountains,
Miyagi, Japan
Notes
References
*
*
External links
Japan National Tourist Organization information
Lakes of Fukushima Prefecture
Kitashiobara, Fukushima
{{Fukushima-geo-stub