Mount Nikkō-Shirane

Mount Nikkō-Shirane (日光白根山, Nikkō-Shirane-san) is a strato-volcano in the Nikkō National Park in central Honshū, the main island of Japan. It stands at 2,578 m high. It is the highest mountain in north eastern Japan (no higher mountains exist in the east or north of this mountain). Its peak (Mt Okushirane) is a Lava dome of andesite. Mt Nikkō-Shirane is listed in the 100 famous mountains in Japan proposed by Kyuya Fukada and also of one the famous mountains of Tochigi and Gunma prefectures respectively.

Mount Nikkō-Shirane
日光白根山
Highest point
Elevation2,578 m (8,458 ft) [1]
Prominence1,613 m (5,292 ft) [1]
ListingUltra
List of volcanoes in Japan
Coordinates36°47′54″N 139°22′27″E [1]
Geography
Mount Nikkō-Shirane
Japan
LocationHonshū, Japan
Topo mapGeospatial Information Authority 25000:1 男体山
Geology
Mountain typeLava dome, Lava flow[2]
Last eruptionJuly to September 1952
Mount Nikkō-Shirane
"Mt. Nikkō-Shirane" in kanji
Japanese name
Kanji日光白根山

It should not be confused with Mount Kusatsu-Shirane elsewhere in Gunma Prefecture. It is located at the boundary between Nikko City, Tochigi Prefecture and Katashina Village, Tone County Gunma Prefecture.

Mt. Nikko Shirane is surrounded by the mountains of the Shirane volcano (Neogene volcano) and is often hidden by clouds throughout the year. From the Kanto Plain only the dome-shaped (Quaternary volcano) summit is visible.

In winter if the weather conditions permit, the white snow fields on the darker surroundings slopes can make the mountain and peak appear exceptionally white.

It's peak is the highest point in both Tochigi and Gunma Prefectures[3]

The area around Shirane Volcano is designated as Nikko National Park in which there are various natural features such as Goshiki pond, Yuno lake, Yu falls, Senjo moor, and Odashiro moor. Being a designated national park, the alpine plants and vegetation are protected.

The plant Sycamore mallow, which naturally appears on this mountain, can hardly be seen at the present time, with the withering of these plants also in the surroundings mountains, which is caused by air pollutants coming from the Tokyo metropolitan area.

See also

References
  1. "Japan Ultra-Prominences" (Listed here as "Oku-shirane-san"). Peaklist.org. Retrieved 2013-03-22.
  2. Nikko Shirane San - Geological Survey of Japan
  3. List of Japanese prefectures by highest mountain
  4. "地理院地図 / GSI Maps (in Japanese)｜Geospatial Information Authority of Japan". maps.gsi.go.jp. Retrieved 2020-04-26.
  5. Mt. Nikkō Shirane Yamakei Online (in Japanese).
  6. 栃木県の山　(Mountains of Tochigi Prefecture, in Japanese) ISBN 978-4-398-76674-8
  7. 山と高知地図　日光　白根・男体　1:50,000 (Nikko; Shirane and Nantai Maps, in Japanese) ISBN 978-4-398-76674-8
  8. Nishida, Shōzō.; 西田省三. (2014). Gensen yukiyama tozan rūtoshū. Tōkyō: Yamatokeikokusha. ISBN 978-4-635-18042-9. OCLC 896817356.
  9. "Mt. Nikko Shirane Weather". 天気と暮らす Tenki to Kurasu, in Japanese.
  10. "Shirane Mountain Weather". Mountain Weather.
  11. Yamasukī rūto nihyakujūni, 212 Mountain Ski Routes (in Japanese). Yama to Keikokusha., 山と渓谷社. Tōkyō: Yamatokeikokusha. 2018. ISBN 978-4-635-47007-0. OCLC 1078643818.CS1 maint: others (link)

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