The , or , is a Japanese

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 ...

which stretches through

Nagano Nagano may refer to: Places * Nagano Prefecture, a prefecture in Japan ** Nagano (city), the capital city of the same prefecture *** Nagano 1998, the 1998 Winter Olympics *** Nagano Olympic Stadium, a baseball stadium in Nagano *** Nagano Universi ...

Toyama Toyama may refer to: Places and organizations * Toyama Prefecture, a prefecture of Japan located in the Hokuriku region on the main Honshu island * Toyama, Toyama, the capital city of Toyama Prefecture * Toyama Station, the main station of Toyama, ...

and

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 ...

prefectures. A small portion of the mountains also reach into

Niigata Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture in the Chūbu region of Honshu of Japan. Niigata Prefecture has a population of 2,227,496 (1 July 2019) and is the List of Japanese prefectures by area, fifth-largest prefecture of Japan by geographic area ...

William Gowland William Gowland FRAI (16 December 1842 – 9 June 1922) was an English mining engineer who carried out archaeological work at Stonehenge and in Japan. He has been called the "Father of Japanese Archaeology". Biography Gowland was born in Sunde ...

coined the phrase "Japanese Alps" during his time in Japan, but he was only referring to the Hida Mountains when he used that name. The Kiso and Akaishi mountains received the name in the ensuing years.

Geography

The layout of the Hida Mountains forms a large Y-shape. The southern peaks are the lower portion of the Y-shape, with the northern peaks forming two parallel bands separated by a deep V-shaped

valley A valley is an elongated low area often running between Hill, hills or Mountain, mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers ...

. It is one of the steepest V-shaped valleys in Japan. The

Kurobe Dam The or , is a high variable-radius arch dam on the Kurobe River in Toyama Prefecture, Japan. The tallest dam in Japan, it supports the 335 MW Kurobe No. 4 Hydropower Plant and is owned by Kansai Electric Power Company. It was constructed betwee ...

, Japan's largest dam, is an arch dam located in the Kurobe Valley in the central area of the mountains. The western arm of mountains, also known as the Tateyama Peaks (立山連峰 ''Tateyama Renpō''), are dominated by

Mount Tsurugi Mount Tsurugi may refer to: * Mount Tsurugi (Hokkaido) (剣山), in Hokkaido, Japan * Mount Tsurugi (Tokushima) (剣山), in Tokushima Prefecture, Japan * Mount Tsurugi (Toyama) (剱岳), in Toyama Prefecture, Japan See also

* Tsurugisan (trai ...

and

Mount Tate , commonly referred to as Tateyama, is a mountain located in the southeastern area of Toyama Prefecture, Japan. It is one of the tallest mountains in the Hida Mountains at . It is one of Japan's along with Mount Fuji and Mount Haku. Tateyama ...

. The eastern arm, known as the Ushiro Tateyama Peaks (後立山連峰 ''Ushiro Tateyama Renpō''), are dominated by

Mount Shirouma is a peak in the Hida Mountains range of the Japanese Alps, located in Nagano Prefecture and Toyama Prefecture, central Honshu, Japan. Geography Mount Shirouma is the 26th-tallest mountain in Japan. At , it is the highest peak in the Hakuba se ...

and

Mount Kashimayari is a peak in the Hida Mountains range of the Japanese Alps at 2889m, located in Kurobe and Tateyama, Toyama and Ōmachi, Nagano, central Honshu, Japan. 新日本山岳誌 (2005)、886-887頁 It is part of Chūbu-Sangaku National Park is a ...

Glaciers

Although it was originally thought that no glaciers existed in East Asia south of

Kamchatka The Kamchatka Peninsula (russian: полуостров Камчатка, Poluostrov Kamchatka, ) is a peninsula in the Russian Far East, with an area of about . The Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Okhotsk make up the peninsula's eastern and wes ...

, recent research has shown that three small glaciers still survive in Mount Tsurugi and Mount Tate owing to the extremely wet climate of the

Hokuriku region The was located in the northwestern part of Honshu, the main island of Japan. It lay along the Sea of Japan within the Chūbu region, which it is currently a part of. It is almost equivalent to Koshi Province and Hokurikudō area in pre-modern ...

allowing for very heavy snowfalls on the high peaks.

Major peaks

, *

, * Mount Tsubakuro, *

* Tsurugisan (trai ...

, * Mount Noguchigoro, *

Mount Yari is one of the 100 Famous Japanese Mountains. The peak lies in the southern part of the Hida Mountains (Northern Alps) of Japan, on the border of Ōmachi and Matsumoto in Nagano Prefecture and Takayama in Gifu Prefecture. The priest Banry� ...

, *

Mount Hotaka Mount Hotaka may refer to: *, a stratovolcano in Gunma Prefecture, Japan *, a mountain in Nagano and Gifu Prefectures, Japan {{geodis ...

, *

Mount Norikura is a potentially active volcano located on the borders of Gifu and Nagano prefectures in Japan. It is part of the Hida Mountains and is listed among the 100 Famous Japanese Mountains and the New 100 Famous Japanese Mountains. Outline The moun ...

Gallery

File:YariKamikohchi.jpg, South half part of Hida Mountains File:Shiroumatake-tateyamarenpoh.JPG, Mount Tateyama File:Yari-Hotaka-Renpoh 02.jpg, Mount Yari and Mount Hotaka File:Hotakadake Takayama01j3872.jpg, Mount Nishihotaka from Nishihotaka-guchi Station File:Hida Mountains from Mount Kurai 2005-03-21.JPG, South half part seen from Mount Kurai

References

External links

North Alps Broad Band Network

Northern Alps Lodging Cooperative

Northern Alps Information for Gifu Prefecture
Japan Alps Mountain ranges of Gifu Prefecture Mountain ranges of Nagano Prefecture Mountain ranges of Niigata Prefecture Mountain ranges of Toyama Prefecture {{Niigata-geo-stub