Tsugaru Plain - Tsugaru Heiya

A plain that spreads across the western part of Aomori Prefecture. It is about 60 km north to south and 20 km east to west. The northwestern part faces the Sea of ​​Japan, but the southeastern part is surrounded by the Ou Mountains, the northeastern part by the Tsugaru Peninsula Sekiryo Mountains, and the southwestern part by mountain ranges centered around Mt. Iwaki. The Iwaki River, which originates in the Shirakami Mountains, joins the Hira River, which merges with the Asaseishi River, and flows gently north through the plains and into Lake Jusan. The southern part, centered around Hirosaki City, is less affected by the easterly winds and the rainy season in summer, and rice paddies and apple orchards are widely distributed, with apple orchards accounting for 49% of the country's total. The northern part of the plain is a single-crop rice paddy area. The new rice fields were developed from the middle of the Edo period and are mostly low-lying marshes, but irrigation projects after World War II have made it one of the highest-yielding rice fields in the country. The plain as a whole produces half of the prefecture's rice, with Goshogawara city at its center.

[Hiroshi Yokoyama]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

青森県西部に展開する平野。南北約60キロメートル、東西20キロメートル。北西部は日本海に面すが、南東部は奥羽山脈、北東部は津軽半島脊梁(せきりょう)山地、南西部は岩木山を主体とする山地により囲まれている。白神(しらかみ)山地に源を発する岩木川は浅瀬石(あせいし)川を合流した平(ひら)川をあわせて緩やかに平野を北流し十三湖(じゅうさんこ)に注ぐ。弘前市(ひろさきし)を中心とする南部の地域は、夏は偏東風のやませや梅雨の影響が少なく、水田とリンゴ園が広く分布し、リンゴ園は全国の49％を占める。平野の北部は水田単作地帯である。江戸時代の中ごろから開拓された新田地帯で低湿地が多いが、第二次世界大戦後の水利事業により全国屈指の高収田となった。平野全体で県の米の半分を産出する。平野の中心は五所川原市(ごしょがわらし)。

［横山　弘］

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