is a

mountain range A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have arise ...

in the

Chūgoku region The , also known as the region, is the westernmost region of Honshū, the largest island of Japan. It consists of the prefectures of Hiroshima, Okayama, Shimane, Tottori, and Yamaguchi. In 2010, it had a population of 7,563,428. History '' ...

of western

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 ...

. It runs in an east–west direction and stretches approximately from

Hyōgo Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Hyōgo Prefecture has a population of 5,469,762 () and has a geographic area of . Hyōgo Prefecture borders Kyoto Prefecture to the east, Osaka Prefecture to the southeast, an ...

in the east to the coast of

Yamaguchi Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Yamaguchi Prefecture has a population of 1,377,631 (1 February 2018) and has a geographic area of 6,112 Square kilometre, km2 (2,359 Square mile, sq mi). Y ...

. The range also reaches under the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

. The two tallest mountains in the group are Daisen and

Mount Hyōno is a mountain on the border of Yabu, Hyōgo Prefecture, and Wakasa, Tottori Prefecture, in Japan. It is the highest mountain in Hyōgo Prefecture. This mountain is one of the 200 famous mountains in Japan. Other names of this mountain are Suga ...

, which are and , respectively. Many other mountains in the ranger are also over , while some of the smaller mountains are less than .

Granite Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...

is the most common stone found among the mountains, much of which has been exposed through erosion.

Geography

Other than Daisen, most of the mountains run along the border of Tottori and

Okayama is the capital city of Okayama Prefecture in the Chūgoku region of Japan. The city was founded on June 1, 1889. , the city has an estimated population of 720,841 and a population density of 910 persons per km2. The total area is . The city is ...

prefectures and the border of

Shimane is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Shimane Prefecture is the second-least populous prefecture of Japan at 665,205 (February 1, 2021) and has a geographic area of 6,708.26 km2. Shimane Prefecture borders Yamaguc ...

and

Hiroshima is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic product (GDP) in Greater Hiroshima, Hiroshima Urban Employment Area, was US$61.3 billion as of 2010. Kazumi Matsui h ...

prefectures. The mountains form a

drainage divide A drainage divide, water divide, ridgeline, watershed, water parting or height of land is elevated terrain that separates neighboring drainage basins. On rugged land, the divide lies along topographical ridges, and may be in the form of a singl ...

and natural barrier in western Japan between the

San'in Region The is an area in the southwest of Honshū, the main island of Japan. It consists of the northern part of the Chūgoku region, facing the Sea of Japan. Etymology The name San'in in the Japanese language is formed from two kanji characters. The ...

to the north and the

San'yō Region The San'yō Region (山陽地方 ''San'yō-chihō'') is an area in the south of Honshū, the main island of Japan. It consists of the southern part of the Chūgoku region, facing the Seto Inland Sea The , sometimes shortened to the Inland Sea ...

to the south.

Major mountains

Mount Daisen , is a dormant stratovolcano in Tottori Prefecture, Japan. It has an elevation of 1,729 metres. This mountain is the highest in the Chūgoku region, and the most important volcano on the Daisen volcanic belt, which is a part of the Southwestern H ...

（大山）, *

（氷ノ山）, * Mount Mimuro (三室山), *

Mount Osorakan is a mountain on the border of Akitakata, Hiroshima Prefecture, and Masuda, Shimane Prefecture, Japan. Situated inside the Nishi-Chugoku Sanchi Quasi-National Park is a Quasi-National Park in Shimane Prefecture, Hiroshima Prefecture, and ...

(恐羅漢山), *

Mount Ushiro is a mountain on the border of Shisō, Hyōgo Prefecture, and Mimasaka, Okayama Prefecture, Japan. It is the highest mountain in Okayama Prefecture and the third highest mountain in Hyōgo Prefecture, after Mount Hyōno and Mount Mimuro. In Hy ...

(後山), * Mount Kanmuri (冠山), *

Mount Jakuchi is a mountain located on the border of Iwakuni, Yamaguchi Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Yamaguchi Prefecture has a population of 1,377,631 (1 February 2018) and has a geographic area of 6, ...

(寂地山), *

Mount Ōgi is a mountain located in Hyōgo and Tottori Prefectures with an altitude of . It has been selected as one of the 100 famous mountains in Kansai and 300 famous mountains in Japan. It is one of the representative volcanoes in the Kansai region ...

(扇ノ山), *

Mount Dōgo , is a volcanic mountain located on the border of Nichinan, Tottori Prefecture and Shōbara, Hiroshima Prefecture. The mountain has an elevation of . The name of Mount Dōgo in Japanese is formed from two kanji. The first, , means "road" and th ...

(道後山), * Mount Hiba (比婆山), *

Mount Nagi , is a mountain located on the border of Chizu, Tottori Prefecture, and Nagi, Okayama Prefecture, Japan. The other reading of this mountain's ''kanji'' is Nagisen. This mountain is an important part of Hyōnosen-Ushiroyama-Nagisan Quasi-Nationa ...

(那岐山), *

Mount Hiru Mount Hiru (蛭ヶ岳 ''Hiru-ga-take'') is the tallest mountain of the Tanzawa Mountains with a height of . Gallery Image:Mt.Hirugatake from Mt.Onigaiwanoatama01.JPG, Image:Tanzawa-shumyaku from Mt.Nabewari.jpg, Image:Tanzawa-shumyaku from S ...

(蒜山), *

Mount Sentsū , also known in English as Sentsūzan, is a mountain located on the border of Nichinan, Tottori Prefecture and Okuizumo, Shimane Prefecture, in Japan. Mount Sentsū has an elevation of and is one of the highest peaks in the Chūgoku Mountain ...

(船通山), * Mount Myōken (妙見山), *

Mount Sambe Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest. Mount or Mounts may also refer to: Places * Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England * Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, C ...

(三瓶山), *

Mount Ōsa Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest. Mount or Mounts may also refer to: Places * Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England * Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, C ...

(大佐山), *

Mount Sen is a {{Convert, 1005.2, m, ft, 0, abbr=on　mountain of Chūgoku Mountains, located on the border of Taka and Kamikawa, Hyōgo, Japan. This mountain is one of Hyōgo 50 mountains. This mountain is an important center of Kasagatayama-Sengamine ...

(千ヶ峰), * Mount Hōbutsu (宝仏山), *

Mount Seppiko is a mountain or mountains in Himeji, Hyōgo, Japan. This mountain is one of the ''San-hiko-san'', three ''Hiko'' Shugendō mountains in Japan, and also one of Hyōgo 50 mountains, and Kinki 100 mountains. It forms part of Seppiko-Mineyama P ...

(雪彦山), * Mount Aono (青野山), * Mount Misumi (三角山), *

Mount Haku , or Mount Hakusan (commonly referred to as simply Hakusan), is a dormant stratovolcano in Japan. It is located on the borders of Gifu and Ishikawa, on the island of Honshu. Mount Haku is thought to have first been active 300,000 to 400,000 yea ...

(白山),

Rivers

The Chūgoku Mountains are the source of several rivers in western Japan. All flow either north to the

Japan Sea The Sea of Japan is the marginal sea between the Japanese archipelago, Sakhalin, the Korean Peninsula, and the mainland of the Russian Far East. The Japanese archipelago separates the sea from the Pacific Ocean. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it h ...

or south to the

Inland Sea An inland sea (also known as an epeiric sea or an epicontinental sea) is a continental body of water which is very large and is either completely surrounded by dry land or connected to an ocean by a river, strait, or "arm of the sea". An inland se ...

with the exception of the Gōnokawa River (), which runs along the mountain range in Hiroshima and Shimane prefectures. The

Sendai River The is a river in eastern Tottori Prefecture, Japan. The Sendai is in length and has a drainage area of . The source of the river is in the Chūgoku Mountains. The Sendai flows north through Tottori Prefecture into the Sea of Japan. Under the ...

(), the

Tenjin River The Tenjin River (天神川) is a river in Tottori Prefecture, 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

Hino River The is a major river in the western part of Tottori Prefecture. The river flows east-northeast for , and is the longest river in the prefecture. The Hino River emerges from the Chūgoku Mountains. The source of the river is at an elevation of ...

(), and the Kando River () all run steeply from the Chūgoku Mountains to the Japan Sea. The

Yoshii River The Yoshii River is a river in Okayama Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Okayama Prefecture has a population of 1,906,464 (1 February 2018) and has a geographic area of 7,114 km2 (2,746 sq mi). Ok ...

(), the

Asahi River The Asahi River is a river in Okayama Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Okayama Prefecture has a population of 1,906,464 (1 February 2018) and has a geographic area of 7,114 km2 (2,746 sq mi). Oka ...

(), and the

Ōta River is a 103 kilometer (64 mile) long river in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. Its main stream originates in (1,339m) and empties through a flood control channel into the Seto Inland Sea. The river is one of the major rivers in the prefecture and de ...

() form a broader

alluvial plain An alluvial plain is a largely flat landform created by the deposition of sediment over a long period of time by one or more rivers coming from highland regions, from which alluvial soil forms. A floodplain is part of the process, being the sma ...

to the south of the mountain range and empty in to the Inland Sea.

Economy

The Chūgoku Mountains are a source of

iron sand Ironsand, also known as iron-sand or iron sand, is a type of sand with heavy concentrations of iron. It is typically dark grey or blackish in colour. It is composed mainly of magnetite, Fe3O4, and also contains small amounts of titanium, silic ...

, and the region was home to some of the earliest production of ironware in Japan. The broad tablelands of the mountain region support cattle ranches, notably for the production of ''

wagyu Wagyu ( ja, 和牛, Hepburn: ''wagyū'', ) is the collective name for the four principal Japanese breeds of beef cattle. All wagyū cattle derive from cross-breeding in the early twentieth century of native Japanese cattle with imported sto ...

'' beef. The numerous rivers of the Chūgoku Mountains support an extensive network of

rice Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima ''Oryza glaberrima'', commonly known as African rice, is one of the two domesticated rice species. It was first domesticated and grown i ...

production in western Japan.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chugoku Mountains Mountain ranges of Hyōgo Prefecture Mountain ranges of Okayama Prefecture Mountain ranges of Hiroshima Prefecture Mountain ranges of Shimane Prefecture Mountain ranges of Tottori Prefecture Mountain ranges of Yamaguchi Prefecture