is a

potentially active volcano A volcano is commonly defined as a vent or fissure in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often fou ...

located on the borders of

Gifu is a Cities of Japan, city located in the south-central portion of Gifu Prefecture, Japan, and serves as the prefectural capital. The city has played an important role in Japan's history because of its location in the middle of the country. Durin ...

and Nagano prefectures in

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 ...

. It is part of the

Hida Mountains The , or , is a Japanese mountain range which stretches through Nagano, Toyama and Gifu prefectures. A small portion of the mountains also reach into Niigata Prefecture. William Gowland coined the phrase "Japanese Alps" during his time in Jap ...

and is listed among the

100 Famous Japanese Mountains is a book written in 1964 by Mountaineering, mountaineer and author Kyūya Fukada.Hyakumeizan, Hiking Japan ...

and the New 100 Famous Japanese Mountains.

Outline

The mountain is located on the borders of Gifu and Nagano prefectures in

Chūbu-Sangaku National Park is a national park in the Chūbu region of Japan. It was established around the Hida Mountains and encompasses parts of Nagano, Gifu, Toyama and Niigata prefectures. It was designated a national park on December 4, 1934, along with Daisetsuzan ...

. The Norikura Plateau borders the mountain on its northern side in Nagano Prefecture. The mountain, whose name means "riding saddle," received its name because its shape looks like a horse saddle. It is known for being the easiest to climb among the mountains in Japan that are above 3000-meters.

History

* 1680s - It is said that

Enkū (1632–1695) was a Japanese Buddhist monk, poet and sculptor during the early Edo period. He was born in Mino Province (present-day Gifu Prefecture) and is famous for carving some 120,000 wooden statues of the Buddha and other Buddhist icons, ...

was the first to reach the peak. * 1878 - Englishman

William Gowland William Gowland FRAI (16 December 1842 – 9 June 1922) was an English mining engineer who carried out archaeological work at Stonehenge and in Japan. He has been called the "Father of Japanese Archaeology". Biography Gowland was born in Sund ...

became the first non-Japanese man to reach the peak. * 1892 - Englishman

Walter Weston Walter Weston (25 December 1861 – 27 March 1940) was an English clergyman and Anglican missionary who helped popularise recreational mountaineering in Japan at the turn of the 20th century. Background and early life Weston was born 25 Dece ...

climbed on the peak. * December 4, 1934 - This area was specified to the Chūbu-Sangaku National Park. * 1973 - Norikura Skyline to the vicinity of the top of a mountain was opened. It is the road that exists in the highest place in Japan.

Nature

After

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 ...

and

Mount Ontake , also referred to as , is the 14th-highest mountain and second-highest volcano in Japan (after Mount Fuji) at . It is included in Kyūya Fukada's 1964 book ''100 Famous Japanese Mountains''. Description Mt. Ontake is located around northeast ...

, Mount Norikura is the third tallest

volcano A volcano is commonly defined as a vent or fissure in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most oft ...

in Japan. It is a

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 ...

and hardened lava flows can still be seen near the peak. There are eight

plain In geography, a plain, commonly known as flatland, is a flat expanse of land that generally does not change much in elevation, and is primarily treeless. Plains occur as lowlands along valleys or at the base of mountains, as coastal plains, and ...

s and 12

crater lake Crater Lake ( Klamath: ) is a volcanic crater lake in south-central Oregon in the Western United States. It is the main feature of Crater Lake National Park and is a tourist attraction for its deep blue color and water clarity. T ...

s on the mountain that were formed by volcanic activity. The Norikura Skyline is a road through the mountain, but it has to be closed for much of the year because of heavy snow fall. Even in the summer, some snow remains on the northeastern face of the mountain.

Plant and animal life

Mount Norikura has a variety of plant and animal life on its slopes. In addition to the

alpine accentor The alpine accentor (''Prunella collaris'') is a small passerine bird in the family Prunellidae, which is native to Eurasia and North Africa. Taxonomy The Alpine accentor was described by the Austrian naturalist Giovanni Antonio Scopoli in 176 ...

and martins, the

rock ptarmigan The rock ptarmigan (''Lagopus muta'') is a medium-sized game bird in the grouse family. It is known simply as the ptarmigan in Europe. It is the official bird for the Canadian territory of Nunavut, where it is known as the ''aqiggiq'' (ᐊᕿ� ...

(one of Japan's

natural monument A natural monument is a natural or cultural feature of outstanding or unique value because of its inherent rarity, representative of aesthetic qualities, or cultural significance. They can be natural geological and geographical features such as w ...

s) also makes its home on the mountain. There are various

alpine plant Alpine plants are plants that grow in an alpine climate, which occurs at high elevation and above the tree line. There are many different plant species and taxon, taxa that grow as a plant community in these alpine tundra. These include perennial g ...

s and other flowers, including

rhododendrons ''Rhododendron'' (; : ''rhododendra'') is a very large genus of about 1,024 species of woody plants in the heath family (Ericaceae). They can be either evergreen or deciduous. Most species are native to eastern Asia and the Himalayan region, b ...

lilies ''Lilium'' ( ) is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants growing from bulbs, all with large and often prominent flowers. Lilies are a group of flowering plants which are important in culture and literature in much of the world. Most species are ...

, and ''komakusa''.

Geography

Geological features

Mount Kengamine (剣ヶ峰 ''Kengamine''), one peak on the mountain, was formed in two eruptions 9,600 and 9,200 years ago. Mount Ebisu (恵比寿岳 ''Ebisu-dake''), another peak, was formed during an eruption 2,000 years ago. Though the volcano has lost some of its eruptive power, volcanic gas is still escaping through the Yū River (湯川 ''Yū-gawa'') and there are many spa areas in the surrounding area.

River of source

Each following

river A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...

of the source flows to the

Sea of Japan The Sea of Japan is the marginal sea between the Japanese archipelago, Sakhalin, the Korean Peninsula, and the mainland of the Russian Far East. The Japanese archipelago separates the sea from the Pacific Ocean. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it ...

Ise Bay is a bay located at the mouth of the Kiso Three Rivers between Mie prefecture, Mie and Aichi prefecture, Aichi Prefectures in Japan. Ise Bay has an average depth of and a maximum depth of . The mouth of the bay is and is connected to the small ...

. *

Tributary A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream (''main stem'' or ''"parent"''), river, or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries, and the main stem river into which they ...

of Azusa River that joins to the

Shinano River The , known as the in its upper reaches, is the longest and widest river in Japan and the third largest by basin area (behind the Tone River and Ishikari River). It is located in northeastern Honshu, rising in the Japanese Alps and flowing g ...

* Tributary of

Takahara River The has its source at Mount Norikura in the northern part of Gifu Prefecture, Japan, and flows into Toyama Prefecture, where it joins with the Jinzū River. It is a Class 1 River. The river was polluted with cadmium due to mining at the Kamioka ...

* Tributary of

Hida River The has its source in Mount Norikura (乗鞍岳 ''Norikura-ga-take'') in Takayama, Gifu Prefecture, Japan. It flows from the northern to the southern section of the prefecture before emptying into the Kiso River in Minokamo. River communiti ...

References

External links

Norikuradake
- Japan Meteorological Agency * - Japan Meteorological Agency

- Geological Survey of Japan * {{DEFAULTSORT:Norikura, Mount Hida Mountains Mountains of Gifu Prefecture Mountains of Nagano Prefecture Volcanoes of Honshū Volcanoes of Gifu Prefecture Volcanoes of Nagano Prefecture