The is a river in
Iwate Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. It is the second-largest Japanese prefecture at , with a population of 1,210,534 (as of October 1, 2020). Iwate Prefecture borders Aomori Prefecture to the north, Akita Prefectur ...
,
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 ...
. From its headwaters near Mt. Waga in the
Ōu Mountains
The are a mountain range in the Tōhoku region of Honshū, Japan. The range is the longest range in Japan and stretches south from the Natsudomari Peninsula of Aomori Prefecture to the Nasu volcanoes at the northern boundary of the Kantō re ...
it flows from north to south through the entire length of
Nishiwaga Town before turning east through
Kitakami City. The River enters the
Kitakami River
The is the fourth largest river in Japan and the largest in the Tōhoku region. It is long and drains an area of . page 793 It flows through mostly rural areas of Iwate and Miyagi Prefectures. The source of the river is the Mount Nanashirug ...
on the south side of the city opposite Mt. Otoko.
The headwaters of both the Waga River and its major tributary the are located in geologically active areas that provide hot springs for numerous ''
onsen
In Japan, are the country's hot springs and the bathing facilities and traditional inns around them. As a volcanically active country, Japan has many onsens scattered throughout all of its major islands. There are approximately 25,000 hot ...
''. Located at the head of the Geto River is Geto Onsen and Geto Ski Area, both popular attractions.
History
left, The Waga River and its tributary Geto River in Iwate Prefecture
In prehistoric times the Waga River valley was occupied by the
Jōmon people whose artifacts can be found in many places. One of the more famous sites is at where the Waga River meets the Kitakami River. Stone "swords", tablets and tools as well as clay figurines, earrings, potsherds and even a shark's tooth were found from the Final Jōmon Period (1,300 - 300 BC).
In 1945 a small prisoner of war camp was established on the south side of the river in the area now known as Lake Kinshu. In the same year a small aircraft factory was built in some caves on the north side of the river near the Ishibane Dam.
Ishibane Dam was completed in just two years in 1954 on the Waga River in western Kitakami. While this construction was underway in 1953 work started upriver on the
Yuda Dam in the town of Nishiwaga. It was completed in 1964 creating a much larger reservoir, . On the Geto River construction of the
Irihata Dam lasted from 1974 to 1990.
Gallery
File:Kitakami and Waga Rivers.jpg, The Waga River (left) empties into the Kitakami River on the south side of Kitakami City. View from Otoka-yama
File:Lake Kinshu.jpg, Lake Kinshu as seen from near the JR Hottoyuda train station
External links
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{{Authority control
Rivers of Iwate Prefecture
Nishiwaga, Iwate
Kitakami, Iwate
Rivers of Japan
