GEOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF JAPAN 17 



ail old city, now noted for its cotton industry. 



On the other hand, the Palaeozoic mountainlands of Tamha lie 

 north of the Tamashiro and Settsu basins. They occupy an extensive 

 area of older formation, like the Hida Plateau, but are not so high 

 and inaccessible. To the south it makes a steep scarp to the i)lain 

 of Settsu, while to the north there is the wide bay of Wakasa, its 

 coast indented with many small inlets. On this bay are Maidzuru, a 

 naval port, and also a long sand spit called Amanc-hashidate or 

 '' The bridge of heaven," which is noted for its beautiful scenery. 



e. Chugoku : — ■ The western part of Honshu forms the large 

 peninsula of Chugoku. It is almost wholly a highly dissected plateau 

 with a few plains along the coast and rivers. The plateau, however, 

 scarcely exceeds 1000 metres in height, with the exception of a few 

 volcanoes, which form a volcanic chain through the northern half of 

 this district. Dai-sen, 1713 m., and Sambe-yama, 1126 m , are the most 

 celebrated volcanoes. According to Ozawa, the earlier geologic forDiation 

 of Chugoku has been greatly disturbed by overthrust foldings which were 

 repealed in the later Palaeozoic and Triassic periods. After a general 

 peneplanation the land was once more upraised forming a i)lateau land- 

 scape, which is, however, dissected by many mountains and hills at present. 

 Granite and other igneous rocks were erupted enormously in earlier 

 periods and are Avidely exposed throughout this district. Pivers are 

 generally short, often making picturesque ravines ; along tectonic lines 

 there are only a few noteworthy ones, such as the Gono— kawa running 

 into the Sea of Japan, and the Higashi-no-okawa, Nishi-no-okawa, 

 Kawabe-kawa, and Ota-gawa flowing into the Inland Sea. 



The coastal lines on both sides of this diirtrict show great 

 contrasts. Along the Sea of Japan the coast is very poor in bays 

 and islands. There is one independent range, the Shinji, forming the 

 peninsula of Shimane. It is separated from the mainland by a wide 

 rift valley, which is now occupied by the lagoon of Nakano-umi, 

 Lake Shinji and the low plain of Kidzuki. Matsue is a beautiful 

 town, located on the shore of the lake and often spoken of as the 

 '* Geneva of Japan." This district has also been well known from 

 protohistoric times because cf its communication with the Korean 

 Peninsula. 03'ashiro in the Kidzttki Plain is one of the most celebra- 

 ted shrines in Japan with respect to Korean immigrants of ancient 

 times. The peculiar type of architecture of the shrine deserves special 

 attention. 



