Mount Zaō

CountryJapanIslandHonshuPrefecturesYamagata and MiyagiGeologyMountain typeComplex volcanoLast eruptionMay 1940^[1]

The Zaō Mountains (蔵王連峰, Zaō Renpō), commonly called Mount Zaō, are a complex cluster of stratovolcanoes on the border between Yamagata Prefecture and Miyagi Prefecture in Japan. 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.

One striking feature of Zaō's famous ski resorts are the "frost-covered trees" (樹氷, juhyō) that appear in mid-winter. Strong wind over the nearby lake fling water droplets which freeze against the trees and their branches, until near-horizontal icicles begin to form. Falling snow settles on the ice formations, and the end result is a grotesque figure of a tree. The effect of a full forest of such trees gives visitors a ghostly impression. Zaō is one of the 100 Famous Japanese Mountains.

Rotaria rotatoria^[3] and Pinnularia spp.^[4] are found in the acidic Okama Lake.^[5]

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  Relief Map
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  Okama Crater
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  Okama Crater
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  Snow monsters
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  View from Mount Zao in winter
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  A 3D rendering

See also

• Snow country (Japan)
• Zaō Ropeway

References

External links

• "English Travel information on Mt. Zao". 21 April 2022.(in English)
• Zaozan - Japan Meteorological Agency (in Japanese)
• "Zaozan: National catalogue of the active volcanoes in Japan" (PDF). - Japan Meteorological Agency
• "Zao" (in Japanese). Geological Survey of Japan.