Mount Azuma

Mount Azuma
Mount Azuma, May 2007.
Elevation	1,705 m (5,594 ft)
Location
Location	Fukushima, Tōhoku region, Japan
Range	Azuma Mountain Range
Coordinates	37°44′N 140°15′E / 37.73°N 140.25°E / 37.73; 140.25
Geology
Type	Stratovolcano
Last eruption	1977

Mount Azuma-kofuji (吾妻小富士^?) is an active stratovolcano in Fukushima prefecture, Japan.

It has a conical-shaped crater and as the name "Kofuji" (small Mount Fuji) suggests, the shape of Mount Azuma is like that of Mount Fuji.^[1] Mount Azuma's appealing symmetrical crater and the nearby fumarolic area with its many onsen have made it a popular tourist destination.

The Bandai-Azuma Skyline passes just below the crater, allowing visitors to drive to within walking distance of the crater and other various hiking trails on the mountain. There is also a visitor center along the roadway near the crater, where a collection of eateries, facilities, a parking lot, and a stop for busses from Fukushima Station are located.

The Azuma volcanic group contains several volcanic lakes, including Goshiki-numa, the 'Five Colored Lakes'.

Each Spring, as the snow melts away, a white rabbit appears on the side of Mount Azuma. The melting snow shaped like a rabbit is known as the 'seeding rabbit' and signals to the people of Fukushima that the farming season has come.^[2]

Notes

1. ^ Takeda T.:Hello! Fukushima, page 68.
2. ^ Takeda T.:Fukushima - Today & Tomorrow, page 12.

References

• Takeda, Toru; Hishinuma, Tomio; Kamieda, Kinuyo; Dale, Leigh; Oguma, Chiyoichi (August 10, 1988), Hello! Fukushima - International Exchange Guide Book (1988 ed.), Fukushima City: Fukushima Mimpo Press 
• Takeda, Toru; Hishinuma, Tomio; Oguma, Chiyoichi; Takiguchi, R. (July 7, 2001), Fukushima - Today & Tomorrow, Rekishi Shunju Publishing Co., ISBN 4-89757-432-3 
• "Azuma". Global Volcanism Program, Smithsonian Institution. http://www.volcano.si.edu/world/volcano.cfm?vnum=0803-18=. 

See also

Media related to Mount Azuma-kofuji at Wikimedia Commons

• List of volcanoes in Japan
• List of the 100 famous mountains in Japan