Agree, the height of Mount Fuji in Japan is not only interesting for schoolchildren in geography classes in the seventh-eighth grades of a comprehensive school. Even we adults would really like to know how many meters this majestic symbol of the Land of the Rising Sun rises. Why? Yes, we are just used to seeing her from childhood on postage stamps, postcards and on TV. It is very peculiar and unusual - Mount Fuji in Japan, a photo of which can now be found in almost any modern guidebook.
In the article, the reader will get acquainted with the secrets and features of this geographical object. Of course, the exact height of Mount Fuji in Japan will also be mentioned.
general description
From a geographical point of view, Fuji is located on the island of Honshu in Japan, almost a hundred kilometers from Tokyo. According to the latest data, which can be considered the most reliable, the exact height of Fuji in Japan in meters is 3,776 m, which makes it the highest in the state.
Scientists have found that the mountain belongs to the volcanoes of a layered type of conical shape. The last eruption occurred in the period 1707-1708. Now it belongs to weakly active volcanoes.
Today, this highest point of the island is considered one of the symbols of the empire, a place of Buddhist and Shinto worship. By the way, not everyone knows that in the past, Fuji in Japan was a popular object of art. Currently, at its peak are a Shinto shrine, weather station and post office.
The mountain is part of the Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park.
Etymology of the name
Fujiyama volcano is very popular in Japan, however, to understand the reasons for such fame, you will have to turn to the basics of the local language.
Linguists claim that the characters 富士山 used for the name Fuji mean "wealth" and "noble man." Most likely, these signs do not have much meaning, but were chosen due to their sound. At least there is no information about the origin of the name.
In the Japanese fairy tale Taketori Mononatari (X century), it is stated that the name came from the words “immortality” (不死 fushi, fuji) and “many soldiers” (富 fu and 士 si, ji).
According to folk etymology, the name of the mountain comes from 不二 - “incomparable”. Another suggestion is the basis of the word 不尽, meaning "inexhaustibility."
There are alternatives to the origin of the name. Hirata Atsutane, a scholar of the Edo period, believed that the famous mountain in Japan of Fuji got its name from an expression meaning "a mountain that is slender, like a rice ear." The missionary from Britain, J. Batchelor (1854-1944), was convinced that the mountain was named after the fire deity Kamui Futi, and the word belongs to the language of the Ainu. But such a version was refuted by the Japanese linguist Kindaiti Kesuke.
In modern place names, it is assumed that the word "Fuji" refers to the Yamato language and means "a beautiful long slope."
Geological features
Mount Fuji, the photo of which cannot but amaze the imagination of even the most experienced travelers, rises above ancient volcanoes in the zone of prolonged volcanic activity, where the Eurasian, Philippine and Okhotsk plates converge.
The formation of the object took place in 4 stages. First, Saint Kamitake volcano was formed from andesite flows, replaced by Komitake basaltic volcano. About 80 thousand years ago, "Old Fuji" appeared. The volcano "Young Fuji" was born 11-8 thousand years ago. For several thousand years, volcanic explosions took place on the mountain, and then lava eruptions. The modern stage of the development of the volcano is characterized by magma from basalt. Due to this, crevices and depressions appeared on the slopes of the mountain, and five Fuji lakes appeared now, to the north of the object, which are now a popular holiday destination in Japan.
In total, since 781, Fuji, whose height exceeds 3,000 meters, has erupted 12 times. The largest basalt eruptions were recorded in 800, 864 and 1707-1708. The last outburst was the strongest of all time.
By the way, not everyone knows that after the aforementioned events, the Hoeyzan crater formed on the eastern side of the slope, and the city of Edo (Tokyo) was covered with a thick layer of ash. Mount Fuji has the appearance of a cone and is a typical stratovolcano.
Can a volcano be considered active?
In the history of the volcano, 19 eruptions occurred, and today it is considered active, but is now in a dormant state, since the last activity was observed more than 300 years ago. The diameter of the mountain crater is 505 m and has a depth of 200 m.
The height of Mount Fuji in Japan is impressive, but if you look inside, for example, from an airplane, you can pay attention to the fact that the crater resembles a lotus flower framed by ridges, like petals. The volcano has a long history. Several stages of its activity are highlighted.
The natural landscape of the mountain slopes is unique and diverse. Cherry and plum orchards, deciduous and coniferous forests grow here, rice plantations are spread. This place is of particular interest to tourists from around the world who want to conquer the top of the volcano. Fuji (height is over 3000 meters) is open to travelers. However, it is worth paying attention to the fact that the climb to the mountain takes up to 8 hours, and the descent - 5 hours, so you simply can’t do without good physical preparation.
Climb history
Up to 200,000 people visit the volcano annually, including foreign tourists. The safest period for climbing is July-August. For tourists, there are rescue centers and Japanese Yamagoya, where you can eat and relax.
In other months, the peak is covered in snow. The height of Fuji in Japan is such that, on the recommendation of specialists, it had to be divided into several so-called levels. Now there are 10. Up to the fifth of them there is a toll road, buses run. There are restaurants, parking. From the 5th to the summit, only 4 routes are open. There are also several paths from the foot of Fuji. Traveling on any of the tracks takes from 3 to 8 hours, and descent - from 2 to 5 hours.
In addition to these routes, roads for bulldozers, which are used to deliver goods and evacuate people in emergency cases, are laid to the top. They are not protected from rockfall and are dangerous for hiking.
The height of Mount Fuji in Japan. Tales and myths
Legend has it that in 286 BC the bowels of the earth in these parts moved apart, and a large lake Biwa formed, and Mount Fuji grew from the remaining soil. And this is practically true. Honshu Island is located in the Pacific seismic zone at the junction of several lithospheric plates. The mountain itself stands in the transverse fault zone.
Every year in Japan, about 1,500 earthquakes of various intensities occur, volcanic eruptions and thermal springs occur, and separate sections of the earth's crust slowly rise and fall. Up to 4 tremors are recorded per day.
For the Japanese, Fuji is a sacred place where the gods live and the gates to hell open. Mountains of this kind have always been associated with the model of the universe and the center of the world, symbolizing peace. This attitude of people towards the volcano is explained by the fact that the beauty of Fuji is not eternal, it can disappear someday forever.
Flora Features
Of interest is not only an object parameter such as height. Fuji in Japan is a place of growth for certain representatives of the flora.
At the foot of the mountain you can see plum and cherry trees, rice fields are broken . Camellia, laurel trees, oaks, pines, cypresses and arborvitae are found in forests preserved on the slopes. Trunks of trees grow stems of vines, grapes or ivy. The ground is covered with a fern carpet.
The climate of the middle mountains is cooler, and broad-leaved tree species prevail in these areas: oaks, chestnuts, beeches, ash and maples. A little higher begins the kingdom of conifers: spruce, fir, larch and yew. The upper tiers of the volcano are occupied by rosemary, rhododendron, lingonberries and meadows. The peak itself is covered with snow most of the year.
What threatens grief today
Now the volcano is in critical condition, and this was blamed on the strongest earthquake that occurred off the coast of Japan in March 2011. Shocks of magnitude 9 and a devastating tsunami led to a nuclear disaster in Fukushima, endangered the entire Japanese archipelago and seriously jeopardized the volcano.
Such data was provided by a team of Japanese and French researchers who are confident that Fuji can wake up.
Excursions
Fuji is a symbol of the state, and all Japanese people dream of climbing to the top of the mountain. It is associated with divine purity, the power of the nation and country.
True, climbing is possible only in the summer months. During the Edo period, there were more than 800 societies following the ascent. The climb to Fuji was difficult and difficult. People wore straw hats and stocked with long staves.
Now everything is much simpler, and all conditions have been created for tourists to facilitate the path to the top, half of which can be done by bus or car.
Even the fact that the mountain belongs to a Shinto temple does not prevent sightseeing trips. Under the control of the country there are only routes laid for the ascent to the top, and a weather station.
Horror
Not everyone knows that the mountain contains several actually chilling secrets. At the base of the volcano is a national park Aokigahara, who gained his gloomy fame after the publication of the 1993 Complete Book on Suicide by Wataru Tsurumi. The author called the forest planting an ideal place to escape from life. The book has become a bestseller in Japan, and it is often found near the dead who passed away in the forest. The park scares with its silence. People who get there seem to have someone chasing them.
In Japan, this place was called the forest of suicides. In 2002 alone, about 80 corpses were found on its territory. Despite the fact that there are hiking trails to the top of the volcano, travelers rarely visit these places. The mythology of Japan also says that the forest serves as a haven of black power. In the XIX century. the inhabitants of the country brought here and left to die children and the elderly, whom they could not feed.
In the bowels of the forest there are reserves of iron ore. People in these areas stop compasses. Snakes, wild dogs and foxes live in the caves.
To date, CCTV cameras are installed in the forest, and a special employee is on duty around the clock.
Curious facts about the volcano
The volcano belongs to the existing Shinto shrines. Here are places of worship of this faith.
Thanks to ancient Japanese engravings, it was believed that the white beauty of the mountain is endless. But the assertion that the top of the volcano is always covered in snow is erroneous. Between July and September, the snow cover on the mountain completely disappears.
When climbing Mount Fuji, tourists are forbidden to throw garbage, as warned by special signs. A package is issued for these purposes.
For travelers built paid dry closets with heated seats, powered by solar panels.
The top of the mountain is not particularly suitable for paragliding. The reasons are overcast and wind. For classes, the slopes between Subashiri and Gotemba are most often used.