Mount Zaō

Mount Zaō
The Okama Crater Lake
Elevation	1,841 m (6,040 ft)
Location
Location	Honshū, Japan
Coordinates	38°08′28″N 140°26′35″E / 38.141°N 140.443°E / 38.141; 140.443
Geology
Type	Complex volcano
Last eruption	1940

Mount Zaō (蔵王山, Zaō-san^?) is a complex volcano on the border between Yamagata Prefecture and Miyagi Prefecture in Japan. It consists of a cluster of stratovolcanoes and is the most active volcano in northern Honshū. The central volcano of the group includes several lava domes and a tuff cone, Goshiki-dake, which contains a crater lake named Okama. Also known as the 'Five Color Pond' (五色沼, goshiki numa) because it changes color depending on the weather, it lies in a crater formed by a volcanic eruption in the 1720s. The lake is 360 metres (1,200 ft) in diameter and 60 m (200 ft) deep, and is one of the main tourist attractions in the area.

North side view

Aerial photo

External images
	Snow monsters at Japanese Wikipedia
	Aerial photo of Okama, the crater lake, in 1976

One striking feature of Zaō's famous ski resorts is the snow monsters (樹氷, Juhyō^?) that appear in mid-winter. These are trees frozen by winds from Siberia and covered in snow, giving a ghostly impression. Zaō is one of the 100 famous mountains in Japan.

See also

• List of volcanoes in Japan
• Snow country (Japan)
• Zaō Ropeway

References

"Zao". Global Volcanism Program, Smithsonian Institution. http://www.volcano.si.edu/world/volcano.cfm?vnum=0803-19=.