| Zaō Mountains | |
|---|---|
| 蔵王連峰 | |
 The Zaō Mountains as seen from the Shiroishi River, anAbukuma River tributary, at thecherry blossom season | |
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 1,841 m (6,040 ft)[1][2] |
| Listing | |
| Coordinates | 38°08′38″N140°26′24″E / 38.144°N 140.44°E /38.144; 140.44[1] |
| Geography | |
  Zaō Mountains Location on Honshu Show map of Tohoku, Japan Zaō Mountains Zaō Mountains (Japan) Show map of Japan | |
 | |
| Country | Japan |
| Island | Honshu |
| Prefectures | |
| Geology | |
| Mountain type | Complex volcano |
| Volcanic arc | Northeastern Japan Arc |
| Last eruption | May 1940[1] |
TheZaō Mountains (蔵王連峰,Zaō Renpō), commonly calledMount Zaō, are a complex cluster ofstratovolcanoes on the border betweenYamagata Prefecture andMiyagi Prefecture inJapan. The central volcano of the group includes severallava domes and atuff cone, Goshiki-dake, which contains acrater 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 acrater 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 the100 Famous Japanese Mountains.
Rotaria rotatoria[3] andPinnularia spp.[4] are found in the acidic Okama Lake.[5]
| Hokkaidō | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tōhoku region Jōshinetsu region | |||||||||
| Kantō region | |||||||||
| Chūbu region |
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| Western Japan | |||||||||
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| National | |
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| Geographic | |
