Japan’s geography

From a geographical perspective, Japan’s terrain has the following four distinctive characteristics.

(1) The Land of Ten Thousand Islands

Japan’s territory consists of four large islands, including Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu, and many small islands. According to the survey results released by the Waterway Department of the Japan Coast Guard in 2000, Japan has 6,852 islands with coastlines above 100 meters. If the islands and reefs with coastlines below 100 meters are added, Japan can probably be called the "Ten Thousand Islands". country”.

Among these islands, there are 48 islands with an area of ​​more than 55 square kilometers***. Among them, Honshu Island alone accounts for more than 60% of the country's total area. In addition to the aforementioned four large islands including Honshu, another important island is Okinawa, covering an area of ​​1201.3 square kilometers.

(2) Mountains and steep slopes

The Japanese archipelago is full of mountains. About 61% of the land is mountainous with an altitude of more than 300 meters, and 18% is less than 300 meters above sea level. hills, the two combined account for nearly 80% of the country. There are 21 mountains above 3000 meters above sea level. Among them, the highest is Mount Fuji located in Yamanashi and Shizuoka Prefecture. It is 3,776 meters above sea level. The top of the mountain is covered with snow all year round. The mountain is majestic and straight. It is a national symbol that the Japanese are proud of.

(3) The plains are small

The largest plain in Japan is the Kanto Plain, covering an area of ​​10,000 square kilometers, followed by the Ishikari Plain (4,000 square kilometers) and the Niigata Plain (2,070 square kilometers). ), Nobi Plain (1800 square kilometers), Osaka Plain (1600 square kilometers). The Kanto Plain is the most socially, economically, and culturally developed region in Japan. Major cities such as the capital Tokyo and the country's second largest city Yokohama and Kawasaki are located in this plain. Osaka, the third largest city in the country, and the famous Hanshin Industrial Zone are naturally located on the Osaka Plain, making this plain one of the richest areas in the country. Nagoya, the fourth largest city in the country, and Chukyo Industrial Zone, one of the four major industrial zones, are located in the Noo Plain. In addition, the Niigata Plain and Fuji Plain in Honshu, the Ishikari Plain and Tokachi Plain in Hokkaido, and the Chikushi Plain in Kitakyushu are also famous for their developed economies.

(4) "Earth disasters" occur frequently

Japan is a country with many natural disasters. Not only are "natural disasters" such as typhoons frequent, but "earth disasters" such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, landslides, tsunamis and other geological disasters also occur more frequently. There are more than 270 volcanoes in Japan, of which about 80 are active volcanoes. The famous Mount Fuji is a standard cone-shaped active volcano. Although it has not erupted for nearly 300 years, white water vapor still rises from the mountain every day. In the 1990s, large-scale eruptions occurred in Unzen, Mt. Fugen and Izu Oshima near Nagasaki, which adversely affected the lives of local people.

Related to its frequent volcanic activity, Japan is a country known for its many earthquakes. According to incomplete statistics, there are an average of four earthquakes every day in Japan, and there is one earthquake of magnitude 6 or above every year. The Tokyo area alone experiences 40 to 50 earthquakes every year. On January 17, 1995, a magnitude 7.2 earthquake occurred in southern Hyogo Prefecture, causing huge losses of approximately 6,400 people dead and more than 40,000 injured. The Great Kanto Earthquake that occurred in 1923 caused a tragedy of 99,331 deaths, 103,773 injuries, and 43,476 missing people.

Of course, Japan’s geological characteristics of frequent volcanoes and earthquakes are not without its merits. For example, the large number of hot springs produced subsequently bring great convenience to people’s lives.

4. Rivers and lakes

Japan is a country rich in water resources. Its geographical location surrounded by the sea and its subtropical temperate climate result in heavy precipitation and a large number of rivers and lakes. The mountainous and steep terrain gives its rivers and lakes a unique landscape.

(1) The main characteristics of Japan’s rivers are:

a) Short flow

The longest river in Japan is the Shinano River, with a total length of about 367 km kilometer. Next is the Tone River, with a total length of 322 kilometers. There are more than 40 rivers in the country with a main course of more than 100 kilometers, of which only 10 rivers have a main course of more than 200 kilometers.

b) Small drainage area

According to official statistics, Japan has 64 rivers with a drainage area of ​​more than 1,000 square kilometers, including one with a drainage area of ​​more than 1,500 square kilometers. There are 44 first-class rivers. The river with the largest drainage area is the Tone River (16,840 square kilometers), followed by the Ishikari River (14,330 square kilometers), the Shinano River (11,900 square kilometers), and the Kitakami River (10,150 square kilometers), and the rest are less than 10,000 square kilometers.

c) Large drop

As mentioned above, due to the mountainous and steep terrain of Japan, the distance between the mountains and the coast is very short, and the rivers flow out of the mountains quickly. It flows into the ocean, and Japan has abundant rainfall, so the river has a large drop, rapid water flow, and numerous rapids and waterfalls.

d) Water flow varies greatly depending on the season

Japan has four distinct seasons, with obvious dry and rainy seasons. The precipitation changes significantly between seasons, so the rivers The water flow varies greatly seasonally. Some rivers often flood during the summer and autumn flood seasons, but often dry up in winter.

(2) Lakes

There are more than 600 large and small lakes in Japan, most of which are distributed in the Kanto, Tohoku and Hokkaido regions of the Japanese archipelago. Among them, there are four lakes with a water surface area of ​​more than 100 square kilometers, namely: Lake Biwa (670 square kilometers), Kasumigaura (approximately 168 square kilometers), Lake Saluma (approximately 152 square kilometers), and Lake Inaashiro (approximately 152 square kilometers). approximately 103 square kilometers).

Most of the lakes in Japan are volcanic lakes, and some are formed by water accumulation in the caldera of volcanoes, so they are small and deep. The deepest Tazawa Lake is 423 meters deep. The depths of Lake Shikotsu in Hokkaido and Lake Towada, located between Aomori and Akita prefectures, also exceed 300 meters.

Japan also has some large lakes with high economic value. For example, Lake Biwa is not only the main water source for Shiga Prefecture, Osaka and Kyoto, but also the largest aquatic product base in the country. Its freshwater fish Its output accounts for more than 50% of the country's total output, and its freshwater pearls are also well-known throughout the country.

5. Climate

Climate is closely related to the geographical location of the country. Most of Japan's 370,000 square kilometers of land belongs to the temperate zone. In addition, Japan is surrounded by sea on all sides, so it can basically be said to have a temperate maritime climate. .

Compared with China and other Eurasian countries, Japan’s climate has the following basic characteristics.

(1) There are obvious differences between regions

Because Japan’s territory spans a long latitude, is arranged in a narrow and narrow area from south to north, and spans the subarctic zone, temperate zone and subtropical zone, and each major continent The island has numerous mountains and complex terrain, and is often affected by monsoons and sea currents. Therefore, the climate differences between regions are very obvious. Japanese meteorologists generally divide Japan into the following three major climate zones: the monsoon subtropical forest climate zone in the west and southwest, the monsoon temperate coniferous forest climate zone in the north (Hokkaido and northern Honshu), and the monsoon temperate zone in the central part. Broadleaf forest climate zone. Even on the same Honshu Island, there are big differences in climate between "Ote Nippon" facing the Pacific Ocean and "Ura Nippon" facing the Sea of ​​Japan: Ura Nippon has heavy precipitation and snowy weather in winter; Winters are sunny, but summers have heavy rainfall.

(2) Seasonal characteristics are distinct

Like my country, Japan still uses the twenty-four solar terms, and regards the beginning of spring, the beginning of summer, the beginning of autumn, and the beginning of winter as spring, summer, autumn, and winter respectively on the calendar. The beginning of the four seasons. In astronomy, the vernal equinox, summer solstice, autumnal equinox, and winter solstice are regarded as the beginnings of the four seasons of spring, summer, autumn, and winter respectively. Spring in Japan is characterized by frequent changes in cloudiness and sunshine, while summer is characterized by high temperatures and rainy weather. In autumn, "typhoons" and "late frosts" come frequently. Heavy snow is a unique winter landscape in Japan, especially in northern Japan.

(3) Large precipitation

The average annual precipitation in Japan is about 1800 mm, and the annual precipitation in southeastern Kyushu, southern Shikoku, Ishikawa, Fukui and other counties is as high as More than 3000 mm. The average annual precipitation in Europe is only about 560 mm, and in North America it is only about 640 mm. Akita Prefecture is at the same latitude as Beijing, but its precipitation is three times that of Beijing.