9$ S. SEKITA AND Y. KIKUCHI 



sionnl rendings of the crater-wall when explosions took place, have 

 brought about the present form, namely, that of separate masses 

 presenting more or less conical shapes. In the ISTumano-taira, or 

 "plains with ponds," there were several small lakes or pools, as is 

 usual in craters of this nature. Nearly in its centre, there existed 

 before the eruption a solfatara on a small hillock called Iwö-yama, or 

 "sulphur mount." from which sulphur was collected by the neigh- 

 bouring villagers. The plain was also covered with dense forests, 

 which were destroyed on the loth of July. 



The flanks of Bandai are cut into numerous channels called 

 "sawa." The largest of them is that known as Biwa-sawa. which 

 opens eastward from the Numano-taira. It was down this ravine that 

 the smaller stream of mud and rook descended in the late eruption. 

 Seen from the east, it presents a very conspicuous appearance. Fig. 

 2, PI. XYII, is a sketch made of this part of the mountain immedia- 

 tely after the eruption. From our point of view we had a magnificent 

 prospect of Obandai, with its rugged and precipitous wall on the nor- 

 thern side. The plain of Numano-taira is seen to terminate in a very 

 steep cliff, known as Futatsu-iwa, at which place the water of the 

 lakes in the above plain made a sudden leap, forming a high water- 

 fall. Immediately below this is a small depression called Hikage, 

 which has been regarded by some as a secondary crater of the late 

 eruption. Another large ravine is that lying between Obandai and 

 Akahani-yama, opening southward, and named Katsura-sawa. There 

 is also a bare glen on the southern flank of Obandai, known as Kara- 

 sawa. These ravines or valleys may be considered to have been chiefly 

 modelled by the paroxysmal explosions which, as the history of the 

 mountain tells us, took place at intervals in past times. Denudation, 

 however, has doubtless modified their original forms. The same 

 remarks may be held to apply to the topographical features of the 



