Mount Zaō

Zaō Mountains
Zaō Mountains
蔵王連峰
	The Zaō Mountains as seen from the Shiroishi River, an Abukuma River tributary, at the cherry blossom season
Highest point
Elevation	1,841 m (6,040 ft)
Listing	Mountains of Japan; Volcanoes of Japan;
Coordinates	38°08′38″N 140°26′24″E / 38.144°N 140.44°E
Geography
	Zaō Mountains Location on Honshu Zaō Mountains Zaō Mountains (Japan)
Country	Japan
Island	Honshu
Prefectures	Yamagata; Miyagi;
Geology
Mountain type	Complex volcano
Last eruption	May 1940

The Zaō Mountains (蔵王連峰, Zaō Renpō), commonly called Mount Zaō, are a complex cluster of stratovolcanoes on the border between Yamagata Prefecture and Miyagi Prefecture in Japan. The central volcano of the group includes several lava domes and a tuff cone, Goshiki-dake, which contains a crater lake named "Okama". Also known as the "Five Color Pond" (五色沼, goshiki numa) because it changes color depending on the weather, it lies in a crater formed by a volcanic eruption in the 1720s. The lake is 360 metres (1,200 ft) in diameter and 60 m (200 ft) deep, and is one of the main tourist attractions in the area.

One striking feature of Zaō's famous ski resorts are the "frost-covered trees" (樹氷, juhyō) that appear in mid-winter. Strong wind over the nearby lake fling water droplets which freeze against the trees and their branches, until near-horizontal icicles begin to form. Falling snow settles on the ice formations, and the end result is a grotesque figure of a tree. The effect of a full forest of such trees gives visitors a ghostly impression. Zaō is one of the 100 Famous Japanese Mountains.

Rotaria rotatoria^[3] and Pinnularia spp.^[4] are found in the acidic Okama Lake.^[5]

Relief Map
Okama Crater
Okama Crater
Snow monsters
View from Mount Zao in winter
A 3D rendering

References

^ ^a ^b ^c "Zaozan [Zaosan]". Global Volcanism Program. Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 2023-04-28.
^ "Topographic map of Zao". opentopomap.org. Retrieved 2023-04-28.
^ Deneke, Rainer (2000). "Review of rotifers and crustaceans in highly acidic environments of pH values ≤ 3". Hydrobiologia. 433 (1–3): 167–172. doi:10.1023/a:1004047510602. S2CID 25056334.
^ Negoro, K (1940). "A Pinnularia from Okama, an acidotrophic crater lake of volcano Zao". Jpn. J. Limnol. 9 (4): 176–179. doi:10.3739/rikusui.9.176.
^ Anzai, T (1938). "Limnological observation of Okama, a crater lake of Volcano Zaō". Jpn. J. Limnol. 8 (3–4): 264–272. doi:10.3739/rikusui.8.3-4_264.

External links

"English Travel information on Mt. Zao". 21 April 2022.(in English)
Zaozan - Japan Meteorological Agency (in Japanese)
"Zaozan: National catalogue of the active volcanoes in Japan" (PDF). - Japan Meteorological Agency
"Zao" (in Japanese). Geological Survey of Japan.

[gvp-1] "Zaozan [Zaosan]". Global Volcanism Program. Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 2023-04-28.

[otm-2] "Topographic map of Zao". opentopomap.org. Retrieved 2023-04-28.

[3] Deneke, Rainer (2000). "Review of rotifers and crustaceans in highly acidic environments of pH values ≤ 3". Hydrobiologia. 433 (1–3): 167–172. doi:10.1023/a:1004047510602. S2CID 25056334.

[4] Negoro, K (1940). "A Pinnularia from Okama, an acidotrophic crater lake of volcano Zao". Jpn. J. Limnol. 9 (4): 176–179. doi:10.3739/rikusui.9.176.

[5] Anzai, T (1938). "Limnological observation of Okama, a crater lake of Volcano Zaō". Jpn. J. Limnol. 8 (3–4): 264–272. doi:10.3739/rikusui.8.3-4_264.

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See also

References

External links