Handa Plateau - Handa Kogen

Located in the western part of Oita Prefecture, this plateau is surrounded by volcanoes such as Mimata, Hossho, Kuroiwa, Sensui, and Kuenhira in the northern part of the Kuju volcanic group, and is 8 kilometers long, east to west and north to south. The gently sloping grasslands made by pumice flows and fall pumice layers of biotite hornblende dacite that flowed out during the final stage of Kuju volcanic activity are beautiful, including sparse forests of oak, sawtooth oak, and Japanese pine. Hot springs such as Makinoto, Hossho, and Ukenokuchi, as well as the cold spring of Kannojigoku, are scattered throughout the area. The Yamanami Highway (Beppu Aso Road), which opened in 1964, runs through the area. In the northeast, there are the lake plains of Senchomuta and the Narukogawa Valley. The former is the legendary site of Asahi Choja, who opened up Sencho rice fields, and was known as the "Mochi no Mato" (rice cake target). It was converted into rice paddy fields by settlers in the late Meiji period, and the pumice flow plateau to the south was opened up as a highland vegetable field by settlers after World War II.

[Shunichi Kaneko]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

大分県西部、九重(くじゅう)火山群北部の三俣(みまた)、星生(ほっしょう)、黒岩(くろいわ)、泉水(せんすい)、崩平(くえんひら)などの諸火山に囲まれた、標高800～1200メートル、東西・南北各8キロメートルの高原。九重火山活動末期に流れ出た黒雲母角閃石(かくせんせき)石英安山岩の軽石流と降下軽石層のつくるなだらかな波状のスロープの草原が、ナラ、クヌギ、小松の疎林を含んで美しい。牧ノ戸(まきのと)、星生、筌ノ口(うけのくち)の諸温泉や、寒ノ地獄(かんのじごく)冷泉が点在している。1964年（昭和39）開通のやまなみハイウェイ（別府阿蘇道路）が走る。北東部に千町無田(せんちょうむた)の湖跡平地と鳴子川渓谷(なるこがわけいこく)がある。前者は昔千町の田を開いた朝日長者「餅(もち)の的(まと)」伝説地で、明治後期の入植者によって水田化され、その南側の軽石流台地は第二次世界大戦後の入植者によって高冷地野菜畑に開かれている。

［兼子俊一］

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