Fuji, Mount
Mount Fuji rises on the border of the Shizuoka and Yamanashi prefectures in central Honshu, Japan, near the Pacific Coast. Identified as a conical stratovolcano, it is the highest peak in Japan at 3,776 meters above sea level. Mount Fuji has a complex history of growth. A group of overlapping volcanoes rather than a single structure, it is composed of Komitake, Ko-Fuji (Older Fuji Volcano), and Shin Fuji (Younger Fuji volcano). Shin Fuji experienced a period of lava flows from 11,000 BCE to 8,000 BCE that account for four-fifths of its current volume. The base of the volcano is about 125 kilometers in circumference with a diameter of roughly 40 to 50 kilometers. The summit is a circular crater about 500 meters across and about 250 meters deep below the highest point.
The volcano has erupted approximately sixteen times since 781 CE. An eruption from 16 December 1707 to 22 January 1708 contributed to the formation of a large, new crater on the east flank. This is known as Mount Hoei. The summit vent released steam between 1780 and 1820, and despite remaining dormant since then, the mountain is classified as an active volcano.
The temperature at the top of Mount Fuji averages –19.2°C in January and 5.9°C in August. At the foot the temperature averages 2.2°C in January and 23.8°Cin August. Precipitation is important at the foot, where the annual rainfall reaches 2,000 millimeters. Flora and fauna are abundant. The more than 1,300 plant species include alpine varieties, and more than 130 bird species are native to the region. Many rivers flow through the area, including the Kisegawa, Ayusawagawa, Uruigawa, and Shibagawa. The eruptions of Mount Fuji have formed five small lakes at the mountain's northern foot. From east to west they are Lake Yamanaka, Lake Kawaguchi, Lake Sai, Lake Shoji, and Lake Motosu. The abundance of groundwater and streams around Mount Fuji has encouraged farming and has facilitated the establishment of paper and chemical industries.
Mount Fuji in November 1972. (CHARLES E. ROTKIN/CORBIS)A feature of Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park, Mount Fuji is a popular tourist attraction and climbing site. Since early times the summit has been considered a sacred peak. In 1994 Mount Fuji was considered for registration as a World Natural Heritage site, and subsequent measures toward nature conservation have been significant issues in Japan.
Further Reading
Association of Japanese Geographers, eds. (1980) Geography of Japan. Tokyo: Teikoku-Shoin.
Simkin, Tom, and Lee Siebert. (1994) Volcanoes of the World: A Regional Directory, Gazetteer, and Chronology of Volcanism during the Last 10,000 Years. Tuscon, AZ: Geoscience Press.
Suwa Akira. (2001) Fujisan (Mount Fuji). Tokyo: Mainichi Shimbun Sha.
This is the complete article, containing 431 words
(approx. 1 page at 300 words per page).
