The is a

peninsula A peninsula is a landform that extends from a mainland and is only connected to land on one side. Peninsulas exist on each continent. The largest peninsula in the world is the Arabian Peninsula. Etymology The word ''peninsula'' derives , . T ...

that encompasses the entirety of

Chiba Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Chiba Prefecture has a population of 6,278,060 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of . Chiba Prefecture borders Ibaraki Prefecture to the north, Saitama ...

Honshu , historically known as , is the largest of the four main islands of Japan. It lies between the Pacific Ocean (east) and the Sea of Japan (west). It is the list of islands by area, seventh-largest island in the world, and the list of islands by ...

, the largest island of

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. It is part of the

Greater Tokyo Area The Greater Tokyo Area is the most populous metropolitan area in the world, consisting of the Kantō region of Japan (including Tokyo, Tokyo Metropolis and the prefectures of Chiba Prefecture, Chiba, Gunma Prefecture, Gunma, Ibaraki Prefecture, ...

. It forms the eastern edge of

Tokyo Bay is a bay located in the southern Kantō region of Japan spanning the coasts of Tokyo, Kanagawa Prefecture, and Chiba Prefecture, on the southern coast of the island of Honshu. Tokyo Bay is connected to the Pacific Ocean by the Uraga Channel. Th ...

, separating it from the

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

. The peninsula covers approximately .

Description

The Bōsō Peninsula is defined by the Pacific Ocean to its east and south, Tokyo Bay to the west, and the Edo and

Tone Tone may refer to: Visual arts and color-related * Tone (color theory), a mix of tint and shade, in painting and color theory * Tone (color), the lightness or brightness (as well as darkness) of a color * Toning (coin), color change in coins * ...

rivers to the north. The Bōsō Hill Range forms the backbone of the south of the peninsula, and much of the area is hilly. Mount Atago in

Minamibōsō is a Cities of Japan, city located in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 37,143 in 17,175 households and a population density of 160 persons per km2. The total area of the city is , making it the fifth largest c ...

and Kamogawa is the highest point on the peninsula with an altitude of . From south to north the Bōsō Hill Range gives way to the Shimōsa Plateau, which covers much of the area of northern Chiba Prefecture, and ends in the lower areas around the

Tone River The is a river in the Kantō region of Japan. It is in length (the second longest in Japan after the Shinano River) and has a drainage area of (the largest in Japan). It is nicknamed Bandō Tarō (); ''Bandō'' is an obsolete alias of the ...

. The northern and western parts of the Bōsō Peninsula are highly urbanized. The Shimōsa Plateau and the coastal lowlands and interior river valleys are chiefly used for

rice Rice is a cereal grain and in its Domestication, domesticated form is the staple food of over half of the world's population, particularly in Asia and Africa. Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice)—or, much l ...

cultivation. The western coast of the peninsula is home to the

Keiyō Industrial Zone , also known as the Keiyō Industrial Region, the Keiyō Industrial Area, or the Keiyō Industrial Belt, is an industrial region, industrial zone on the northeastern coast of Tokyo Bay that crosses 8 cities in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. The zone sp ...

, which ranges from

Urayasu 260px, Old Urayasu is a city located in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 170,533 in 81,136 households and a population density of . The total area of the city is . Urayasu is best known as the home of Tokyo Dis ...

on the border of Tokyo in the northwest of the peninsula to

Futtsu file:富津市役所.jpg, 260px, Futtsu City Hall is a Cities of Japan, city located in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 42,476 in 18,115 households and a population density of 210 persons per km2. The total are ...

to the south. The Tokyo Bay Aqua-Line, a

bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

tunnel A tunnel is an underground or undersea passageway. It is dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, or laid under water, and is usually completely enclosed except for the two portals common at each end, though there may be access and ve ...

across Tokyo Bay, connects Kisarazu with the city of Kawasaki in

Kanagawa Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the List of Japanese prefectures by population, second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-dens ...

. The northeast of the peninsula is home to Suigo-Tsukuba Quasi-National Park, which spans across both Ibaraki and Chiba prefectures, and much of the remainder of the eastern coast of the peninsula is designated as Minami Bōsō Quasi-National Park.

Etymology

The peninsula gets its name and

kanji are logographic Chinese characters, adapted from Chinese family of scripts, Chinese script, used in the writing of Japanese language, Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese and are ...

from the former

provinces A province is an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outside Italy. The term ''provi ...

that were located there: Awa (安房), Kazusa (上総) and Shimōsa (下総). The

Japan Meteorological Agency The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA; ''気象庁, Kishō-chō'') is a division of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism dedicated to the Scientific, scientific observation and research of natural phenomena. Headquartered ...

refers to the west and east coasts of the peninsula as ''Uchibō'' (内房) and ''Sotobō'' (外房) respectively.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boso Peninsula Landforms of Chiba Prefecture Peninsulas of Japan