is the largest

crater lake Crater Lake (Klamath language, Klamath: ''Giiwas'') is a volcanic crater lake in south-central Oregon in the western United States. It is the main feature of Crater Lake National Park and is famous for its deep blue color and water clarity. The ...

Honshū , historically called , is the largest and most populous island of Japan. It is located south of Hokkaidō across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyūshū across the Kanmon Straits. The island separa ...

island,

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 ...

. Located on the border between

Aomori is the capital city of Aomori Prefecture, in the Tōhoku region of Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 278,964 in 136,457 households, and a population density of 340 people per square kilometer spread over the city's total area of ...

and

Akita is a Japanese name and may refer to: Places * 8182 Akita, a main-belt asteroid * Akita Castle, a Nara period fortified settlement in Akita, Japan * Akita Domain, also known as Kubota Domain, feudal domain in Edo period Japan * Akita, Kumamoto ...

prefectures, it lies 400 meters (1,800 ft) above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardised g ...

and is 327 m (1,073 ft) deep, drained by the

Oirase river The is a river located in eastern Aomori Prefecture, in the Tōhoku region of northern Japan. __NOTOC__ The Oirase River is the only river that drains Lake Towada, a large caldera lake that lies on the border of Aomori and Akita Prefectures. The ...

. With a surface area of 61.1 km², Towada is Japan's 12th largest lake, its bright blue color is due to its great depth. The lake is roughly circular, with two

peninsula A peninsula (; ) is a landform that extends from a mainland and is surrounded by water on most, but not all of its borders. A peninsula is also sometimes defined as a piece of land bordered by water on three of its sides. Peninsulas exist on all ...

s extending from its southern shore approximately one-third into the center of the lake. The lake is a popular tourist destination.

Location

Lake Towada is located approximately northeast of

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

, divided between the municipalities of

Towada, Aomori is a Cities of Japan, city in Aomori Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 60,697, and a population density of 84 persons per km2 in 27,677 households. The total area of the city is . Geography Towada is in the foothills o ...

and

Kosaka, Akita is a town located in Akita Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 4,646 in 2,368 households, and a population density 23 persons per km². The total area of the town is . In 2016, Kosaka was selected as one of The Most ...

. It forms part of the northern section of

Towada-Hachimantai National Park is a national park comprising two separate areas of Aomori Prefecture, Aomori, Iwate Prefecture, Iwate, and Akita Prefecture, Akita Prefectures of Japan, Prefectures, Japan. The Towada-Hakkōda area encompasses Lake Towada, Hakkōda Mountains, ...

Geology

Lake Towada occupies the

caldera A caldera ( ) is a large cauldron-like hollow that forms shortly after the emptying of a magma chamber in a volcano eruption. When large volumes of magma are erupted over a short time, structural support for the rock above the magma chamber is ...

of a

stratovolcano A stratovolcano, also known as a composite volcano, is a conical volcano built up by many layers (strata) of hardened lava and tephra. Unlike shield volcanoes, stratovolcanoes are characterized by a steep profile with a summit crater and per ...

still regarded as an

active volcano An active volcano is a volcano which is either erupting or is likely to erupt in the future. An active volcano which is not currently erupting is known as a dormant volcano. Overview Tlocene Epoch. Most volcanoes are situated on the Pacific Ri ...

. This volcano became active around 200,000 years ago, and through repeated eruptions and pyroclastic flows, especially 55,000 and 36,000 and 15,000 years ago, created an 11 kilometer diameter caldera with the proto-Lake Towada. From approximately 15,000 to 12,000 years ago, intermittent eruptions formed a small stratovolcano within this caldera (Mount Goshikiiwa). Intermediate eruptive activity continued and at least eight eruptions of

magma Magma () is the molten or semi-molten natural material from which all igneous rocks are formed. Magma is found beneath the surface of the Earth, and evidence of magmatism has also been discovered on other terrestrial planets and some natural sa ...

occurred from 11,000 years ago to the present. The Ogurayama Lava Dome was formed approximately 7,600 years ago on the northeastern slope of the Goshikiiwa volcano. The Mikadoishi Lava Dome is estimated to be within 12,000 and 2,800 years ago. The collapse of these secondary lava domes approximately 5400 years ago give the lake its distinct shape and the inlet between its two peninsulas (called the “Nakaumi”) is the remnant of a secondary caldera which erupted and collapsed.

Hydrology

According to the National Institute for Environmental Studies of Japan, the water renewal cycle of Lake Towada is approximately 8.5 years. The

catchment area In human geography, a catchment area is the area from which a location, such as a city, service or institution, attracts a population that uses its services and economic opportunities. Catchment areas may be defined based on from where people are ...

of the lake covers an area of . The lake area is fed by around seventy rivers, half of which are intermittent. The

Oirase River The is a river located in eastern Aomori Prefecture, in the Tōhoku region of northern Japan. __NOTOC__ The Oirase River is the only river that drains Lake Towada, a large caldera lake that lies on the border of Aomori and Akita Prefectures. The ...

, which drains towards the Pacific ocean, is the only outlet.

History

The name of the lake is believed to derive from the Ainu word , literally meaning "rocky lake" According to a legendary account, the Yamata general Sakanoue Tamuramaro visited Lake Towada during one of his expeditions north to conquer the

Emishi The (also called Ebisu and Ezo), written with Chinese characters that literally mean "shrimp barbarians," constituted an ancient ethnic group of people who lived in parts of Honshū, especially in the Tōhoku region, referred to as in contemp ...

tribes, and built a small

Shinto shrine A is a structure whose main purpose is to house ("enshrine") one or more ''kami'', the deities of the Shinto religion. Overview Structurally, a Shinto shrine typically comprises several buildings. The '' honden''Also called (本殿, meani ...

on the eastern shore of the Nakayama peninsula in 807 AD dedicated to

Yamato Takeru , originally , was a Japanese semi-legendary prince of the Yamato dynasty, son of Emperor Keikō, who is traditionally counted as the 12th Emperor of Japan. His name written in kanji can vary, in the '' Nihon Shoki'' it is spelled 日本武尊 ...

. The mountain continued to erupt well into the historical period, with the last recorded eruption occurring in 915 AD in the Nakaumi caldera, devastating the surrounding area with

pyroclastic flow A pyroclastic flow (also known as a pyroclastic density current or a pyroclastic cloud) is a fast-moving current of hot gas and volcanic matter (collectively known as tephra) that flows along the ground away from a volcano at average speeds of b ...

s and

lahar A lahar (, from jv, ꦮ꧀ꦭꦲꦂ) is a violent type of mudflow or debris flow composed of a slurry of pyroclastic material, rocky debris and water. The material flows down from a volcano, typically along a river valley. Lahars are extreme ...

s, and covering most of the

Tōhoku region The , Northeast region, or consists of the northeastern portion of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. This traditional region consists of six prefectures (''ken''): Akita, Aomori, Fukushima, Iwate, Miyagi, and Yamagata. Tōhoku retains a ...

of Japan with

volcanic ash Volcanic ash consists of fragments of rock, mineral crystals, and volcanic glass, created during volcano, volcanic eruptions and measuring less than 2 mm (0.079 inches) in diameter. The term volcanic ash is also often loosely used t ...

, leading to crop failures, climate change and famines. During the Heian and Kamakura Period, the area was a wilderness and a place of prayer and training for

Yamabushi are Japanese mountain ascetic hermits. They are generally part of the syncretic religion, which includes Tantric Buddhist, Shinto, and Japanese Taoist elements. Their origins can be traced back to the solitary Yama-bito and some (saints or h ...

, including worship of Suijin, the ''

kami are the deities, divinities, spirits, phenomena or "holy powers", that are venerated in the Shinto religion. They can be elements of the landscape, forces of nature, or beings and the qualities that these beings express; they can also be the sp ...

'' of water, as being associated with the azure dragon, legendary guardian of the lake, hence the other name of the sanctuary: Towadasan Seiryū daigongen. The area around Lake Towada remained largely wilderness until towards the end of the

Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characteriz ...

, when the

Nambu clan The was a Japanese samurai clan who ruled most of northeastern Honshū in the Tōhoku region of Japan for over 700 years, from the Kamakura period through the Meiji Restoration of 1868. The Nanbu claimed descent from the Seiwa Genji of Kai Pr ...

Morioka Domain 300px, Ruins of Morioka Castle was a '' tozama'' feudal domain of Edo period Japan. It was ruled throughout its history by the Nanbu clan. It was called during the early part of its history. It was located in northern Mutsu Province, Honshū, ...

attempted large scale

land reclamation Land reclamation, usually known as reclamation, and also known as land fill (not to be confused with a waste landfill), is the process of creating new land from oceans, seas, riverbeds or lake beds. The land reclaimed is known as reclamati ...

projects at Sanbongihara (modern

Towada is a city in Aomori Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 60,697, and a population density of 84 persons per km2 in 27,677 households. The total area of the city is . Geography Towada is in the foothills of the Hakkōda M ...

) using the

for irrigation. In 1903, largely through the efforts of Wainai Sadayuki, princess trout were introduced into Lake Towada. The lake now also has

rainbow trout The rainbow trout (''Oncorhynchus mykiss'') is a species of trout native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead (sometimes called "steelhead trout") is an anadromous (sea-run) form of the coasta ...

cherry salmon The masu salmon (''Oncorhynchus masou''), also known as masu ( ja, マス, , trout) or in Japan, is a species of salmon belonging to the genus '' Oncorhynchus'', found in the North Pacific along Northeast/East Asian coasts from the Russian Far Ea ...

carp Carp are various species of oily freshwater fish from the family Cyprinidae, a very large group of fish native to Europe and Asia. While carp is consumed in many parts of the world, they are generally considered an invasive species in parts of ...

Carassius ''Carassius ''is a genus in the ray-finned fish family Cyprinidae. Most species in this genus are commonly known as crucian carps, though this term often specifically refers to '' C. carassius''. The most well known is the goldfish (''C. auratus ...

Japanese eel The Japanese eel (''Anguilla japonica''; Japanese: 日本鰻 ''nihon'unagi'') is a species of anguillid eel found in Japan, Korea, China, and Vietnam, as well as the northern Philippines. There are three main species under the Anguilla genus, and ...

. The surrounding forests are temperate deciduous, and are primarily Erman’s birch and Siebold’s beech. The lake was selected by the

Tokyo Nichi Nichi Shimbun Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.4 ...

and Osaka Mainichi Shimbun as one of the Eight Scenic Views of Japan in 1927. In 1936, the lake and surrounding areas became part of

. In 1953, in order to popularize the lake and the park, a sculpture of two women titled “The Maiden Statue” by

Kōtarō Takamura was a Japanese poet and sculptor. Biography Takamura was the eldest son of Japanese sculptor Takamura Kōun was a Japanese sculptor who exerted himself for the modernization of wood carving and a professor of Tokyo School of Fine Arts, wh ...

was dedicated at the lakeshore as part of the park's 15th anniversary celebration. It was the last work by that noted sculptor. A wartime

Tachikawa Ki-54 The Tachikawa Ki-54 was a Japanese twin-engine advanced Training aircraft, trainer used during World War II. The aircraft was World War II Allied names for Japanese aircraft, named Hickory by the Allies. History The Ki-54 was developed in respon ...

aircraft of the

Imperial Japanese Army Air Force The Imperial Japanese Army Air Service (IJAAS) or Imperial Japanese Army Air Force (IJAAF; ja, 大日本帝國陸軍航空部隊, Dainippon Teikoku Rikugun Kōkūbutai, lit=Greater Japan Empire Army Air Corps) was the aviation force of the Im ...

which crashed in 1943 was found at the bottom of Lake Towada on 13 August 2010. It was recovered on September 5, 2012 and has been placed on display.

Activities

Located in the central area of Yasumiya is the lake's symbol, the Otome-no-Zo statue, located. From there excursion boats arrive and depart. In Utarube visitors can canoe or camp.

References

*Southerland, Mary and Britton, Dorothy. ''The National Parks of Japan''. Kodansha International (1995).

External links

Towada
- Japan Meteorological Agency * - Japan Meteorological Agency

- Geological Survey of Japan * {{DEFAULTSORT:Towada Lakes of Japan Calderas of Honshū Volcanic crater lakes Volcanoes of Aomori Prefecture Tourist attractions in Aomori Prefecture Special Places of Scenic Beauty Landforms of Aomori Prefecture Pleistocene calderas Holocene calderas