is a

national park A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...

extending along the Sanriku Coast of Japan from Hachinohe in

Aomori Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan in the Tōhoku region. The prefecture's capital, largest city, and namesake is the city of Aomori (city), Aomori. Aomori is the northernmost prefecture on Japan's main island, Honshu, and is border ...

through

Iwate Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. It is the second-largest Japanese prefecture (behind Hokkaido) at , with a population of 1,165,886 (as of July 1, 2023). Iwate Prefecture borders Aomori Pre ...

to Kesennuma in

Miyagi Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. Miyagi Prefecture has a population of 2,265,724 (1 August 2023) and has a geographic area of . Miyagi Prefecture borders Iwate Prefecture to the north, Akit ...

. The national park was created on 24 May 2013 and covers a land area of .

History

On 2 May 1955 the was created in 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 (): Akita, Aomori, Fukushima, Iwate, Miyagi, and Yamagata. Tōhoku retains ...

Honshū , 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 seventh-largest island in the world, and the second-most populous after the Indonesian ...

in northern

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 ...

. The park extended for 180 kilometers from north to south along the coastline of 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 ...

from northern

Miyagi prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. Miyagi Prefecture has a population of 2,265,724 (1 August 2023) and has a geographic area of . Miyagi Prefecture borders Iwate Prefecture to the north, Akit ...

to northern

Iwate prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. It is the second-largest Japanese prefecture (behind Hokkaido) at , with a population of 1,165,886 (as of July 1, 2023). Iwate Prefecture borders Aomori Pre ...

. It had a land area of . On 24 May 2013 the park was incorporated into Sanriku Fukkō National Park. This was in the aftermath of the

2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami On 11 March 2011, at 14:46:24 Japan Standard Time, JST (05:46:24 UTC), a 9.0–9.1 Submarine earthquake, undersea megathrust earthquake occurred in the Pacific Ocean, east of the Oshika Peninsula of the Tōhoku region. It lasted approx ...

. It also includes the former Tanesashi Kaigan Hashikamidake Prefectural Natural Park. On 31 March 2015, the Ministry of the Environment extended the park to include the former

Minami Sanriku Kinkasan Quasi-National Park was a Quasi-National Park on the Pacific coast of northern Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. Established in 1979, the park extended along 180 km of the coast of southern Sanriku and encompassed Mount Kinka. On 31 March 2015, in the aftermath of ...

. Subsequently, the park will be extended to include Kesennuma Prefectural Natural Park, Kenjōsan Mangokuura Prefectural Natural Park, and Matsushima Prefectural Natural Park.

Geography

The entire coastline is noted for examples of sea erosion, with numerous rock pillars and islands. The northern coast is an example of an uplifted coastline, and is an area which has been subject to several strong earthquakes and

tsunami A tsunami ( ; from , ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and underwater explosions (including detonations, ...

in recent history. The southern coast is an example of a ria coastline of submerged river valleys, with deep inlets and narrow peninsulas, forming many small bays and coves. At the northern part of the national park there is an and set of cliffs called the Kita Yamazaki. The scenic coastal rock formations are nicknamed the "Alps of the Sea".

Related municipalities

Aomori , officially Aomori City (, ), is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Aomori Prefecture, in the Tōhoku region of Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 264,945 in 136,781 households, and a population density of 321 people per squa ...

: Hachinohe, Hashikami
Iwate: Fudai, Iwaizumi, Kamaishi, Kuji, Miyako, Noda,

Ōfunato is a city located in Iwate Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 35,452, and a population density of 110 persons per km2 in 14,895 households. The total area of the city is . Geography Ōfunato is located in southeastern ...

Ōtsuchi An is a large wooden war mallet used by the samurai class of feudal Japan The first human inhabitants of the Japanese archipelago have been traced to the Paleolithic, around 38–39,000 years ago. The Jōmon period, named after its cord- ...

, Rikuzentakata, Tanohata, Yamada
Miyagi:

Ishinomaki is a city located in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. , the city has an estimated population of 138,538, and a population density of 250 persons per km2 in 61,919 households. The total area of the city is . Geography Ishinomaki is in northeastern Miya ...

, Kesennuma, Minamisanriku, Onagawa, Tome

Flora and Fauna

Flora includes groves of

Japanese red pine ''Pinus densiflora'', also called the Japanese red pine, the Japanese pine, or Korean red pine, is a species of pine tree native to East Asia and Siberia. In China, the plant is known as 赤松 (pinyin: chì sōng, literally "red pine"). Distrib ...

rhododendron ''Rhododendron'' (; : ''rhododendra'') is a very large genus of about 1,024 species of woody plants in the Ericaceae, heath family (Ericaceae). They can be either evergreen or deciduous. Most species are native to eastern Asia and the Himalayan ...

s and

Rosa rugosa ''Rosa rugosa'' (rugosa rose, beach rose, Japanese rose, Ramanas rose, or letchberry) is a species of rose native to eastern Asia, in northeastern China, Japan, Korea and southeastern Siberia, where it grows on beach coasts, often on sand dunes ...

. Fauna includes numerous bird species, including the black-tailed gull and

shearwater Shearwaters are medium-sized long-winged seabirds in the petrel family Procellariidae. They have a global marine distribution, but are most common in temperate and cold waters, and are pelagic outside the breeding season. Description These tube ...

. In terms of larger animals, there have also been sightings of the kamoshika.

Gallery

File:Kabushima, -8 May 2010 b.jpg, Kabushima Black-tailed gull large breeding ground File:Tsuriganedo.jpg, Kosode coast with a suspended cave File:アンモ浦.jpg, Kurosaki / Anmoura Observatory File:Kitayamasaki.jpg, Kitayamazaki File:Collapsed Rikuzentakata Youth Hostel and a Pine Tree of Hope.jpg, Miracle ipponmatsu File:Goisi-kaigan.jpg, Goishi Coast File:Oogama-001.jpg, Oogamahanzo File:Kinkazan.jpg,

Kinkasan is a small island in Miyagi Prefecture in north-eastern Japan. It lies in the Pacific Ocean approximately one kilometer off the Oshika Peninsula. Geography Kinkasan is in area, and its highest point is the pyramid-shaped Mount Kinka, which st ...

island

References

External links

*
Sanriku Fukko National Park
- National Parks of Japan *
Sanriku Fukko National Park
- National Parks of Japan
Sanriku Fukko National Park Association
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sanriku Fukko National Park National parks of Japan Parks and gardens in Aomori Prefecture National parks of Iwate Prefecture National parks of Miyagi Prefecture Protected areas established in 2013 Parks and gardens in Hachinohe Hashikami, Aomori Miyako, Iwate Ōfunato, Iwate Kuji, Iwate Rikuzentakata, Iwate Kamaishi, Iwate Ōtsuchi, Iwate Noda, Iwate Yamada, Iwate Iwaizumi, Iwate Fudai, Iwate Tanohata, Iwate Ishinomaki Kesennuma Tome, Miyagi Onagawa, Miyagi Minamisanriku, Miyagi