The is a mountainous region in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

that runs north-south through the central part of

Nagano Prefecture is a landlocked prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Nagano Prefecture has a population of 2,052,493 () and has a geographic area of . Nagano Prefecture borders Niigata Prefecture to the north, Gunma Prefecture to the ...

. It is part of the

Yatsugatake-Chūshin Kōgen Quasi-National Park is a quasi-national park on Honshū in Japan. It is rated a protected landscape (category V) according to the IUCN. The park includes the Yatsugatake Mountains and the surrounding lava plateaus: Tateshina plateau, Kirigamine, and Utsukushigahar ...

. The mountains Utsukushigahara, ,

Kirigamine is a 1,925m volcano, located in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. Outline The tallest peak of Mount Kirigamine is Mount Kuruma, on which there is a weather radar site. Most of the mountain is covered in grass with sparse bushes and rocks. The south ...

, and Kamuriki are within Chikuma range. It is a popular tourist's destination. j
筑摩山地の里山 : 大林山・岩井堂山・摺鉢山・大沢山・丸山・四阿屋山・冠着山・三峰山・大根場
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Satoyama is a Japanese term applied to the border zone or area between mountain foothills and arable flat land. Literally, ''sato'' () means village, and ''yama'' () means hill or mountain. Satoyama have been developed through centuries of small-scale ...

in the Chikuma Mountains: Mt. Obayashi, Mt. Iwaido, Mt. Suribachi, Mt. Oosawa, Mt. Maruyama, Mt.Yoya, Mt. Kantsuki, Mt. Mitsumine, Daikonba)

Name

The range is named after the

Chikuma River The , known as the in its upper reaches, is the longest and widest river in Japan and the third largest by basin area (behind the Tone River and Ishikari River). It is located in northeastern Honshu, rising in the Japanese Alps and flowing g ...

, Japan’s longest river at 367 kilometers. Its name comes from its twisted, meandering course: “Chi” meaning ''one thousand'' and “kuma” is a Chinese character meaning ''turns''. In the Niigata Prefecture, the river's name changes to the

Shinano River The , known as the in its upper reaches, is the longest and widest river in Japan and the third largest by basin area (behind the Tone River and Ishikari River). It is located in northeastern Honshu, rising in the Japanese Alps and flowing g ...

.Chikuma River
''Shinetsu Shizenkyo Activity Center'' Geofeatures map of Chubu Japan ja

Geography

The Chikuma Mountains separate the

basin from the

Azusa Azusa may refer to: Relating to California From a Native American language, likely Tongva language, Tongva ''Asuksagna:'' *Azusa, California, a city in the United States *Azusa Pacific University, a Christian-based institution in Azusa, California ...

and

Takase River The is a canal in Kyoto, Japan. It rises from Nijō-Kiyamachi, going along Kiyamachi Street, and meets the Uji River at Fushimi port. The canal crosses with the Kamo River on the way. Today the south half is not connected with Kamo River. Hist ...

basins. The northern part is bounded by the Susobana River with the Togakushi volcanic group, and the southern part is demarcated by the Wada Pass as the Tateshina and Yatsugatake volcanic mountain ranges. Most of the terrain is hilly terrain of 1,200 to 1,500 meters, and the elevation is higher in the south, with mountains such as Mt. Hachibuse (1,929 meters), Utsukushigahara (2,034 meters), and Takeshimine (1,973 meters), and its altitude decreases as it goes northward. The Sai River crosses the northern part as an

antecedent river An antecedent stream is a stream that maintains its original course and pattern despite the changes in underlying rock topography. A stream with a dendritic drainage pattern, for example, can be subject to slow tectonic uplift. However, as the upli ...

, forming a deep erosion valley. j
筑摩山地
} (Chikuma Mountains) The Encyclopedia of Japan (Nipponica)

Transport infrastructure

The Chikuma mountain range has long been a major barrier to transportation, and has been used to connect the Ueda/Nagano Basin with the Matsumoto/Suwa Basin. Dowada Pass is known as a difficult place, and Misayama, the Shinwada road tunnel, and the JR Shinonoi Line Kamuriki Tunnel were also difficult construction projects. It straddles the Chushin region and the Toshin region, and has become a barrier to traffic between the two regions. In 1976, Sansaiyama tunnelSansaiyama tunnel
/ref> was opened and transportation was drastically improved. There is also

Wada Pass (Nagano) Wada Pass (和田峠, Wada-tōge) is a mountain pass in between Nagawa, Nagano, Chiisagata District and Shimosuwa, Nagano, at an altitude of 1,531 m. Nakasendo passed through this mountain pass. Japan National Route 142 runs through the mountain ...

tunnel.

References

{{Category commons, Mount_Hachibuse,_Chikuma Mountains of Japan Mountain ranges of Nagano Prefecture

Name

Geography

Transport infrastructure

See also

References