, or Mount Hakusan (commonly referred to as simply Hakusan), is a dormant

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 ...

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 is located on the borders of

Gifu is a city located in the south-central portion of Gifu Prefecture, Japan, and serves as the prefectural capital. The city has played an important role in Japan's history because of its location in the middle of the country. During the Sengoku ...

and Ishikawa, on the island of Honshu. Mount Haku is thought to have first been active 300,000 to 400,000 years ago, with the most recent eruption occurring in 1659. Along with Mount Tate and

Mount Fuji , or Fugaku, located on the island of Honshū, is the highest mountain in Japan, with a summit elevation of . It is the second-highest volcano located on an island in Asia (after Mount Kerinci on the island of Sumatra), and seventh-highest p ...

, it is one of Japan's .

Outline

The mountain's tallest peak, Gozenga-mine (御前峰), is the one that gives the mountain its height of . Along with Ken-ga-mine (剣ヶ峰), which is , and Ōnanji-mine (大汝峰), which is , the three peaks are considered "Mount Haku's Three Peaks" (白山三峰 ''Hakusan San-mine'').

Mount Bessan is located on the border of Gujō, Gifu Prefecture, and Hakusan, Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan, and rises to a height of . There are two triangulation stations at the top of the mountain. Mount Haku can be seen from the north. Bessan Shrine (別� ...

and

Mount Sannomine is located on the border of Gujō, Gifu Prefecture, and Hakusan, Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan, and rises to a height of . History Mount Haku has been climbed for religious purposes for centuries. One popular hiking route from the Gifu Prefectur ...

are sometimes included and called "Mount Haku's Five Peaks" (白山五峰 ''Hakusan go-mine''). Because it is very prominent and clearly visible from the nearby coast, even after the surrounding mountains have lost their snow, Mount Haku still appears white, which is one explanation for the mountain's name, which means "white mountain." It is also the westernmost mountain in Japan that is over in height.

History and culture

Taichō, a mountain Shugendo monk, first climbed Mount Hakusan in 717. For hundreds of years, people have come to Haku for prayers (白山信仰 ''Hakusan Shinkō''). A branch shrine of Shirayama Hime Shrine, which served as the supreme shrine for Kaga Province, is on the mountain. The Shirayama Hime Shrine is the of approximately 2,000 in Japan. In 1980 an area of 48,000 ha was designated a UNESCO Man and the Biosphere Programme, Man and the Biosphere Reserve.

Nature

Mount Haku was designated as a List of national parks of Japan#Quasi-National Parks, quasi-national park in 1955. It became a national park in 1962UNESCO Biosphere Reserve Information: Mount Hakusan
UNESCO. Accessed May 16, 2008. and was renamed Hakusan National Park. Because the central part of the mountain has much precipitous terrain, there are very few roads and, as a result, little human intrusion into the area. Also limiting human intrusion is the designation of the park as a Wildlife Protection Areas in Japan, Wildlife Protection Area, covering over 38,061 hectare, ha. The park stretches beyond the mountain's borders into Toyama Prefecture.

Geological features

The area surrounding Mount Haku is one of the few in Japan that contains outcroppings from the Jurassic period of the Mesozoic era. Many of Japan's typical examples of dinosaur fossils were found in this area. One of the major rock outcrops is in the Kuwashima area and is known as the "Kuwashima Fossil Wall" (桑島化石壁 ''Kuwashima Kasekikabe''). Because the mountain is a dormant volcano, it is well known for its many onsen.

Flora

Mount Haku is known for its diverse plant life. Along the Sabō Trail, after passing the Jinnosuke Lodge, alpine plants are found, including the Fritillaria camschatcensis, chocolate lily, which is Ishikawa's prefectural plant. There are many alpine plants which have ''Hakusan'' in their name. These include Primula, Primula cuneifolia (''Hakusan Kozakura''), Anemone narcissiflora (''Hakusan Ichige''), Dactylorhiza aristata, Dactylorhiza (''Hakusan Chidori''), Geranium, Geranium yesoemse (''Hakusan Fuuro'') and Rhododendron, Rhododendron brachycarpum (''Hakusan Shakunage''). These plants can be found on many mountains throughout Japan, but they were first discovered and named along the older hiking trails leading to Hakusan Shrine.

Fauna

The golden eagle, Ishikawa's prefectural bird, lives on the slopes of Mount Haku. The rock ptarmigan, Gifu's prefectural bird,A Statistical Guide to Gifu Prefecture 2007
. Gifu Prefecture. Accessed May 16, 2008. used to live on the slopes as well. During the Meiji period, the entire population of ptarmigan on the mountain disappeared; however, sightings of the grouse have recently been recorded by local residents.

Hiking trails

The three most used hiking trails are the Kankō Trail (観光新道 ''Kankō Shinmichi''), the Sabō Trail (砂防新道 ''Sabō Shinmichi'') and the Hirase Trail (平瀬道 ''Hirase-dō''). Both the Kankō Trail and the Sabō trail originate in the city of Hakusan, Ishikawa, Hakusan, Ishikawa Prefecture, but the Hirase Trail starts from the Ōshirakawa Dam (大白川ダム) in Gifu Prefecture. Because the area is protected as a national park, very few trails have been made on the mountain. Though the trails listed above are easy enough to hike up and down in one day, other trails can take two or three days because of the uncleared trails and rough terrain.

Gallery

File:Mount Haku Top Gozengamine 2004-10-17.JPG, Top of Gozengamine (Mount Haku) and Ōnanjimine File:Hakusan Shrine in Murodo 2008-7-1.jpg, Hakusan Shrine at Murodo and Gozengamine File:Pond Midorigaike 2008-10-2.jpg, Volcanic crater (Midoriga-ike) File:12 changes of Oonanjimine from top of Hakusan with title.jpg, Mount Haku in each season File:Hakusan01.JPG, Mount Haku from Midagahara File:Hakusan08.JPG, Kengamine Peak from Gozengamine Peak File:Bessan and Hakusan from Hideridake 2009-4-7.jpg, Mount Haku from east of Mount Hideri File:Mount Bessan from Mount Haku 2001-11-7.jpg,

from the top of Gozengamine

References

External links

Hakusan
- Japan Meteorological Agency * - Japan Meteorological Agency

- Geological Survey of Japan * {{DEFAULTSORT:Haku, Mount Volcanoes of Honshū Mountains of Gifu Prefecture Mountains of Ishikawa Prefecture Mountains of Fukui Prefecture Two-thousanders of Asia Biosphere reserves of Japan Cultural Landscapes of Japan Volcanoes of Gifu Prefecture Volcanoes of Ishikawa Prefecture Volcanoes of Fukui Prefecture Potentially active volcanoes Pleistocene stratovolcanoes Pleistocene Asia Cenozoic Japan Sacred mountains Sacred mountains of Japan Shugendō Highest points of Japanese national parks