GEOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF JAPAN 13 



eruptions on these volcanic islands and of submarine volcanoes liave 

 "been recorded in recent years. Noteworthy among those volcanic 

 islands is Oshima or Viies Island, which is now active. The Idzu 

 Peninsula with Amagi-san, 1405 m., is linked with Honshu by the 

 Ilakone mountain group, which is well known for its large and 

 beautiful atrio lake, Ashi-nc-ko, as well as for its many hot springs. 

 Next Hakone and over Ashitaka stands the prominent cone of Mt. 

 Fuji, whose snowclad peak of typical conide form reaches the height 

 of 3778 m. The chain tends towards the northwest and north and, 

 passing through I\aya-ga-take, 1704 m., Yatsu-ga-take, 2899 m., 

 and Tateshina-yama, 2530 m., it terminates with the Myoko Group 

 (Myoko-zau, 2353 m.) near the coast of the Sea of Japan. 



The southern arc of Honshu was first described as a part of the 

 Sinian System by Pampelly and then as a part of the Kuenlun System 

 by Loczy, both considering it is a single system and an extension 

 of Nan-ling or of Fe-ling (Tsin-ling) respectively on the Asiatic 

 continent. But Baron von Kichthofen considers that it consists of 

 two different mountain systems, which unite in southern Japan ; 

 one chain on the coast of the Sea of Japan, which he names the 

 Chugoku Mountains, being probably an extension of the Kuenlun 

 System or Tsin-ling, while the other, which runs along the Pacific 

 coast and is called the Kuma-Kii Eange, belongs to the mountain 

 system of southern China, or Nan-ling. 



Between the tectonic valleys of Fuji-kawa and Tenryu-gawa in 

 Central Honshu lies the Akaishi Mountain System, which from its 

 outline is often called the Akaishi Sphenoid. It is composed of sevei-al 

 ranges of various geological formations. The highest })eak of Akaishi 

 proper reaches the altitude of 3120 m., while the culminating peak of 

 the whole group with a height of 3192 m. is in the Shiramine Eange, 

 which runs parallel to the Akaishi range proper on the eastern side 

 of the Oigawa valley. The northern extension of the Shiramine joins 

 a granitic mass with the precipitous peaks of Koma-ga-take, 2966 m., 

 and Ho-o~zan, 2741 m. The southern extension of the Akaishi Eange 

 forms the mountain districts of Totomi and Mikawa, and disappears 

 in the Atsumi Peninsula. 



Nearly parallel to the Akaishi Mountains, and between the two 

 great \alleys of Tenryu and Kiso, extends the Kiso Eange with 

 another I\oma-ga-take, 2956 m. This range joins the raountainlands 

 of Mikawa in the south. The si)urs of these mountains form a 



