Nogata Plain - Nogata Heiya

An alluvial plain that spreads across the middle and lower reaches of the Onga River in northern Fukuoka Prefecture. It is also called the Onga River Plain. The upper reaches of the plain stretch 3-8 km east to west and about 20 km north to south, forming a basin. The lower reaches are narrow and the riverbed has a gentle gradient, which has caused frequent flooding since ancient times. Until the mid-Meiji period, the area was an old rice paddy area with ruins from the Yayoi period scattered throughout. After that, with the large-scale development of the Chikuho coalfields, the area became one of Japan's leading coal mining regions, but mine damage and flooding, such as ground cracks and flooding at former coal mine sites, occurred frequently, and restoration work for the mine damage is underway. Currently, the area has lost its vitality due to the large number of unemployed people caused by the closure of the coal mines, but the promotion of coal-producing regions is attracting companies and creating industrial parks, which are changing the plain's landscape, which is characterized by slag heaps and coal mining settlements.

[Masaaki Ishiguro]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

福岡県北部、遠賀川(おんががわ)の中・下流に広がる沖積平野。遠賀川平野ともよばれる。東西3～8キロメートル、南北約20キロメートルの上流域が盆地状に広がっている平野で、下流域が狭いのと河床勾配(こうばい)が緩やかなために古来洪水が多く、明治時代中期までは弥生(やよい)時代の遺跡が分布する古い水田地帯であった。その後、大規模な筑豊炭田(ちくほうたんでん)の開発によって、日本の代表的な炭鉱地域となったが、炭鉱跡の地割れ、水没などの鉱害や水害が多発し、鉱害の復旧工事が進められている。現在は炭鉱の閉山による大量の失業者の出現により活気を失ったが、産炭地域振興による企業誘致や工業団地造成が進行、ボタ山と炭住に代表される平野景観を変えつつある。

［石黒正紀］

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