is an active

stratovolcano A stratovolcano, also known as a composite volcano, is a typically conical volcano built up by many alternating layers (strata) of hardened lava and tephra. Unlike shield volcanoes, stratovolcanoes are characterized by a steep profile with ...

Fukushima prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. Fukushima Prefecture has a population of 1,771,100 () and has a geographic area of . Fukushima Prefecture borders Miyagi Prefecture and Yamagata Prefecture ...

, Japan. It has a conical-shaped crater and as the name "Kofuji" (small

Mount Fuji is an active stratovolcano located on the Japanese island of Honshu, with a summit elevation of . It is the highest mountain in Japan, the second-highest volcano on any Asian island (after Mount Kerinci on the Indonesian island of Sumatra), a ...

) suggests, Mount Azuma is similar in shape to Mount Fuji. Mount Azuma's appealing symmetrical

crater A crater is a landform consisting of a hole or depression (geology), depression on a planetary surface, usually caused either by an object hitting the surface, or by geological activity on the planet. A crater has classically been described ...

and the nearby

fumarolic 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 ...

area with its many

onsen In Japan, are hot springs and the bathing facilities and Ryokan (inn), traditional inns around them. There are approximately 25,000 hot spring sources throughout Japan, and approximately 3,000 ''onsen'' establishments use naturally hot water ...

have made it a popular tourist destination. The

Bandai-Azuma Skyline , also known as the , is a road in Fukushima Prefecture in the Tohoku region, of Honshu, 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 th ...

passes just below the crater, allowing visitors to drive to within walking distance of the crater and other various hiking trails on the mountain. There is also a visitor center along the roadway near the crater, where a collection of eateries, facilities, a parking lot, and a stop for buses from Fukushima Station are located. The Azuma volcanic group contains several

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 ...

, including

Goshiki-numa , is a cluster of five volcanic lakes 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 ...

, the "Five Colored Lakes". Each Spring, as the snow melts away, a white rabbit appears on the side of Mount Azuma. The melting snow shaped like a rabbit is known as the 'seeding rabbit' and signals to the people of Fukushima that the farming season has come.Takeda T.:''Fukushima - Today & Tomorrow'', page 12.

Notes

References

* * *

External links

*
Azumayama
– Japan Meteorological Agency * – Japan Meteorological Agency

– Geological Survey of Japan
Azumayama: Global Volcanism Program
– Smithsonian Institution Mountains of Fukushima Prefecture Volcanoes of Honshū Stratovolcanoes of Japan Active volcanoes Volcanic groups Volcanoes of Fukushima Prefecture {{volcano-stub

See also

Notes

References

External links