- Hakkōda Mountains
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Hakkōda Mountains (八甲田山系 Hakkōda-sankei) Range 
The Hakkōda Mountains viewed from southeast.Country Japan State Aomori Prefecture Region Tōhoku Municipalities Aomori, Hirakawa, Kuroishi, Towada Range Ōu Mountains Parts Northern Hakkōda Volcanic Group, Southern Hakkōda Volcanic Group Highest point Mount Ō - elevation 1,585 m (5,200 ft) - coordinates 40°39′22″N 140°52′51″E / 40.65611°N 140.88083°E Biome Alpine climate Geology Volcanic Orogeny Island arc Plants Fauria cristagalli, Drosera rotundifolia, Lysichiton camtschatcense, Abies mariesii, Siberian Dwarf Pine 
The statue of Corporal Fusanosuke Gotō, who survived the military training at Hakkōda in 1902
The Hakkōda Mountains (八甲田山系 Hakkōda-sankei) is a volcanic mountain range that lies to the south of Aomori city in Aomori Prefecture, Japan. The range consists more than a dozen stratovolcanoes and lava domes arranged into two volcanic groups.[1] The Northern Hakkōda Volcanic Group emerges from the rim of a 8-km wide caldera that dates back to the Pleistocene.[1] The Southern Hakkōda Volcanic Group predates the caldera.[2]
Contents
Description
The highest peak in the range is Mount Ōdake, which can be climbed from Sukayu Onsen in about four hours. Heavy snowfall makes Hakkoda a prime destination for backcountry and mountain skiers, and there are two mountain huts for overnight trips. The lower slopes of the mountains are forested interspersed with moorland. Above 1300 meters,[3] the Alpine climate zone starts.
The Hakkōda Mountains, along with Lake Towada and the Oirase Valley make up the Towada-Hachimantai National Park.[3]
Disaster of the Fifth Infantry Group
Main article: Hakkōda Mountains incidentOn January 23, 1902, 199 of the 210 members of the Imperial Japanese Army's IJA 8th Division's Fifth Infantry Group died during a blizzard that struck them while they were attempting to cross the Hakkōda Mountains from Aomori in a military training exercise. The exercise was meant to gather experience in dealing with winter weather. Japan was preparing for a possible conflict with the Russian Empire in Siberia and Manchuria, which eventually was realized as the Russo-Japanese War.[3] Corporal Fusanosuke Gotō managed to get help for the beleaguered unit. The story is recounted in Death March on Mount Hakkōda: A Documentary Novel, by Japanese author Jirō Nitta.
Geology
The volcanic peaks are made of non-alkali mafic rock;[4] mostly andesite, dacite, and basalt.[2] Although both groups of mountains formed in the Pleistocene, the southern group is older than the northern group. The southern group is made from rock that is 700,000 to 1,700,000 years old, while the northern group is made from rock that is 13,000 to 700,000 years old.[4]
List of peaks
The following is a list of peaks and their heights:[3]
- Northern Group:
- Mount Ōdake (大岳 Ōdake) 1585 m
- Mount Takada-Ōdake (高田大岳 Takada-Ōdake) 1552 m
- Mount Idodake (井戸岳 Idodake)[1] 1537 m
- Mount Akakuradake (赤倉岳 Akakuradake) 1521 m
- Mount Kodake (小岳 Kodake) 1478 m
- Mount Iōdake (硫黄岳 Iōdake) 1360 m
- Mount Tamoyachidake (田茂萢岳 Tamoyachidake) 1324 m
- Mount Maedake (前嶽 Maedake) 1251.7 m
- Mount Hinadake (雛岳 Hinadake) 1240.3 m
- Mount Ishikuradake (石倉岳 Ishikuradake) 1202 m
- Mount Tsurugi
- Southern Group:
- Kushi Summit (櫛ヶ峯 Kushigamine) 1516.5 m
- Includes Mount Kamidake (上岳 Kamidake) 1516.5 m and Mount Shimodake (下岳 Shimodake) 1342 m
- Mount Norikuradake (乗鞍岳 Norikuradake) 1450 m
- Koma Summit (駒ヶ峯 Komagamine) 1416 m
- Mount Sarukuradake (猿倉岳 Sarukuradake) 1353.6 m
- Mount Yokodake (横岳 Yokodake) 1339.4 m
- Mount Akakuradake (赤倉岳 Akakuradake) 1290 m
- Mount Minamizawadake (南沢岳 Minamizawadake) 1198.8 m
- Mount Sakasagawadake (逆川岳 Sakasagawadake) 1183 m
- Kushi Summit (櫛ヶ峯 Kushigamine) 1516.5 m
See also
References
- ^ a b c "Hakkoda Group". Global Volcanism Program. Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. http://www.volcano.si.edu/world/volcano.cfm?vnum=0803-28=. Retrieved 2008-09-13.
- ^ a b "HAKKODA Caldera". Quaternary Volcanoes of Japan. National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology. 2006. http://riodb02.ibase.aist.go.jp/strata/VOL_JP/EN/vol/154a.htm. Retrieved 2008-09-13.
- ^ a b c d Hunt, Paul (1988). "27. Hakkōda Mountains". Hiking in Japan: An Adventurer's Guide to the Mountain Trails (First Edition ed.). Tokyo and New York: Kodansha International. pp. 172–175. ISBN 0-87011-893-5.
- ^ a b "Northern Tohoku". Seamless digital geological map of Japan 1:200,000. Geological Survey of Japan, AIST. May 12, 2007. http://riodb02.ibase.aist.go.jp/db084/TohokuNzoom_e.html. Retrieved 2008-09-16.
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