Ōu Mountains
Mountain range in Honshu, Japan
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Ōu Mountains (奥羽山脈, Ōu-sanmyaku) are a mountain range in the Tōhoku region of Honshū, Japan. It is the longest range in Japan and stretches 500 km (311 mi) south from the Natsudomari Peninsula of Aomori Prefecture to the Nasu volcanoes at the northern boundary of the Kantō region. Though long, the range is only about 35 kilometres (22 mi) wide. The highest point in the range is Mount Iwate, 2,038 metres (6,686 ft).[1]
| Ōu Mountains | |
|---|---|
 A section of the Ōu Mountains near Kōriyama, Fukushima | |
| Highest point | |
| Peak | Mount Iwate, Iwate Prefecture |
| Elevation | 2,038 m (6,686 ft) |
| Dimensions | |
| Length | 500 km (310 mi) North-South |
| Width | 35 km (22 mi) East-West |
| Naming | |
| Native name | |
| Geography | |
 | |
| Country | Japan |
| States |
|
| Region | Tōhoku |
| Range coordinates | 39°51.15′N 141°0.05′E |
| Geology | |
| Orogeny | Island arc |
| Rock type | Volcanic |
The range includes several widely known mountains: Hakkōda Mountains, Mount Iwate, Mount Zaō, Mount Azuma, Mount Yakeishi, and Mount Adatara.
Naming
Geology
The Ōu Mountains began to form in the Pliocene. They sit over the middle of the inner arc of the Northeastern Japan Arc. This is the result of the Pacific plate subducting under the Okhotsk plate. A chain of Quaternary volcanoes along the range forms the volcanic front.[1]