Sanriku Coast
Coastal region of Japan
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Sanriku Coast (三陸海岸, sanriku kaigan) is a coastal region on the Pacific Ocean, extending from southern Aomori Prefecture,[1] through Iwate Prefecture and northern Miyagi Prefecture in northeastern Honshū, which is Japan's main island.[2] The name comes from the historical region of Sanriku (lit. "three riku"), referring to the former provinces of Rikuō, Rikuchū and Rikuzen.[3]
Tourist destination
There are the Tanesashi Coast, the Rikuchu Kaigan National Park and the Minami-Sanriku Kinkazan Quasi-National Park in the Sanriku Coast region.[4]
Earthquakes and tsunami
The bays of this ria coastline tend to amplify the destructiveness of tsunami waves.[5] Significant events which devastated coastal communities include:
- 869 Jogan Sanriku earthquake
- 1611 Keicho Sanriku earthquake
- 1700 Cascadia earthquake
- 1896 Meiji Sanriku earthquake
- 1933 Showa Sanriku earthquake
- 1960 Valdivia earthquake[6]
- 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
Prior to 2011, the tsunami history of Sanriku might have been interpreted as a story of progressively fewer casualties due to human intervention and planning. The 2011 disaster created a new baseline for analysis of regularly occurring tsunamis.[7]