286 The American Geologist. N'ovember, i904. 
start out from Yoitschidake, which rises at the intersection of 140'* E 
and 43° N, the series of volcanoes follows this meridian to th'e 
southward in great stretches ; northward, also it has been attempted to 
extend them by two degrees of latitude to the volcano of the island 
of Rischiri, 1740 meters in hight. Southwards the series deviates to 
the west from tlie meridian for the first time, where it leaves the 
eastern environs of the Kitakami mountain country in order to go 
over westwards from Sendai and to the northern portion of the 
Abukuma mountain country. Here in Sao-san (1964m.) it has al- 
ready reached 140^2 E and has nearly attained 38° N. In the environs 
of the circular lake Inawaschiro above which the Bandai-san rises to 
a hight of i960 meters, it is broadened out to a double series, of which 
the eastern one runs SSW to Nasu ( 1912 m.), then southwest to 
Nan-tai-san (2483 m.), near Nikko, thereupon WSW to Akagi-san 
(1839 m.), and finally W by S to the Asama-yama (2480 m.). Here 
it has reached a longitude of 138" 35' E, a latitude of 36° 25' N, 
and comes into the immediate neighborhood of the Fuji series. 
Thus apparently ends the beautifully curved arc. But at this end 
is joined a meridional cross series which is parallel to the northern- 
most stretch of the Fuji series and is distant from it 36 kilometers. 
Asama, Schirane (2253 m.), Iwasuge ('2515 m.), Hennomine (1804 m.) 
and Ammamisu (1090 m.), are its peaks. It is more w'orthy of note 
that in the exact extension of the arc itself to the W by S beyond the 
Fuji zone and the great fracture rim lies the unique volcanic series 
in the great region of eastern South Japan. Norikura (3166 m.), 
Hakusan (2640 m.), Dainitschi (1236 m.), and Kunimi-dake (638 m.) 
mark it out. Kunimi lies upon the sea in the meridian of the Biwa 
lake 225 kilometers distant from Asama. The length of the entire 
volcanic arc from Rischiri is nearly 1300 kilometers. 
The penetration of this arc acro^'s the great fault cleft into a 
differently constructed mountain country, reminds one of the penetra- 
tion of the Aleutian arc into the central range of Kamtschatka, or of 
that of the Kurile arc into the Hidaka chain of Yezo, and of the 
Liukiu arc into the transversely directed structure of Kiusiu. As in 
the first case, so it appears also here, as if the reappearance in a 
foreign region were connected with special intensity of expression ; 
for the Nurikura, like the Asama-yama, is the focus for a transversely 
directed series to which the Ontake (3185 m.). in the south and the 
Iwodake in the north belong. 
The great volcano arc — which I will call from a generally well- 
known peak, the Bandai Arc — is for North Japan the real dominating 
line of the. most recent time. As a chain of volcanic islands like the 
Liukiu, the Kuriles, and the Aleutian islands, it had appeared in 
connection with the sinking of the land beneath the surface of the 
sea. As a transversely facing continent, with steep and sharply cut 
eaistern border, slioukl rise the land lying to the west of the great 
fracture. On this the arc should advance in flanking position and 
continue running over across it. The similarity witti the flanking 
