Kitakami Basin

Japanese: 北上盆地 - きたかみぼんち

The Kitakami River basin runs south between the Ou Mountains and the Kitakami Highlands, and is a long, narrow valley basin that stretches for about 180 km from the foot of Mt. Nishidake in the north to the Kozenji Gorge in Ichinoseki City in the south. It is made up of Quaternary diluvial deposits and alluvial deposits along the rivers, and on the west side of the alluvial lowland south of Morioka, higher river terraces and alluvial fans have developed. The Isawa alluvial fan and the Rokuhara alluvial fan are famous, and in the past, Isawa Castle and Shiba Castle were built at the ends of these alluvial fans and plateaus, and became bases for the development of the Tohoku region. In the Edo period, the Kitakami River was mainly used for boat transportation. The Oshu Highway also runs north to south through the Kitakami Basin, and the cities of Ichinoseki, Mizusawa, Esashi, Kitakami, Hanamaki, and Morioka all developed from post towns and river port settlements along the road. After World War II, multipurpose dams were constructed for flood control, irrigation, and power generation as part of the comprehensive development of the Kitakami River basin, including Ishibuchi Dam (Isawa River), Tase Dam (Sarugaishi River), Yuda Dam (Waga River), Yosoda Dam (Kitakami River main stream), and Gose Dam (Shizukuishi River). Many more multipurpose dams were constructed thereafter for flood control, power generation, and irrigation. The comprehensive development of the rivers and plains has brought about major changes in Iwate Prefecture's industry, economy, and culture. The Tohoku Shinkansen, JR Tohoku Main Line, Tohoku Expressway, and National Route 4 run through the prefecture.

Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia About Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia Information

Japanese:

奥羽山脈と北上高地の間を南流する北上川流域で，北は西岳山麓より南は一関市狐禅寺峡谷にいたる約 180kmの細長い縦谷盆地。第四紀洪積層と河川沿いの沖積層から成り，盛岡以南の沖積低地の西側は，一段と高い河岸段丘や扇状地が発達。胆沢扇状地や六原扇状地は有名で，古くはこの扇状地や台地の末端に胆沢城や志波城が築かれ，東北開拓の拠点となった。江戸時代の北上川は主として舟運に利用された。奥州街道もこの北上盆地を南北に通り，一関，水沢，江刺，北上，花巻，盛岡などの都市群はいずれも街道筋の宿場町や河港集落を母体として発展した。第2次世界大戦後，北上川水系総合開発として治水，灌漑，発電を兼ねた石淵ダム (胆沢川) ，田瀬ダム (猿ケ石川) ，湯田ダム (和賀川) ，四十四田ダム (北上川本流) ，御所ダム (雫石川) などの多目的ダムが構築され，その後も治山治水，発電，灌漑のための数多くの多目的ダムが建設された。川と平野を中心とした総合的な開発によって，岩手県の産業，経済，文化は大きく変化してきている。東北新幹線，JR東北本線，東北自動車道，国道4号線が縦貫。

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