Kaema Plateau
The Kaema Plateau (Kaema Kowon), "the roof of Korea," stretches across north and south Hamgyong Province to the east and the provinces of North and South P'yongan to the west in North Korea. The height of the plateau ranges from 1,000 to 2,000 meters above sea level. It is the largest tableland on the Korean Peninsula, with an area comprising about 40,000 square kilometers. The plateau slants down on the side of the Amnok River (Yalu) in the northern sector and it builds a steep slope on the northern and eastern sides. The plateau stretches across several counties, including Kapsan, Changjin, and Musan, that are dissected by the tributaries of the Amnok and Tumen Rivers. Subsistence-level farming products such as foxtail millet, oats, soybeans, barnyard grass, and potatoes are produced using fire-field agriculture (slash-and-burn farming) on the west side of the plateau. Dams have been made to harness the power of the Hochon, the Changjin, and the Pujon Rivers, all of which flow northward into the Amnok River. The greatest benefit from the damming of these river basins has been the increase of hydroelectric power.
Further Reading
McCune, Shannon Boyd-Bailey. (1980) Views of the Geography of Korea, 1935–1960. Seoul: Korea Research Center.
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