Fukuyama Plain

This plain lies in the lower reaches of the Ashida River in eastern Hiroshima Prefecture. It is bounded to the southwest by the Numakuma tilted land mass, and to the north and east by Paleozoic hills. In ancient times, the coastline was located in the central part of Fukuyama City, much further inland than it is today, but later, sediment from the Ashida River accumulated and formed an alluvial plain. In the early modern period, reclamation of the land progressed after the construction of Fukuyama Castle, and new rice fields were created in Kawaguchi and Shingai. At the end of the Meiji period, the land extended all the way to Minojima, and in the 1960s, the area off the coast of Minojima was reclaimed with the establishment of the Nippon Kokan Fukuyama Steel Works (now JFE Steel West Japan Works).

[Kitagawa Kenji]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

広島県東部、芦田(あしだ)川の下流域に展開する平野。南西は沼隈(ぬまくま)傾動地塊に、北と東は古生層の丘陵で囲まれている。古代には海岸線はいまよりもかなり内陸の福山(ふくやま)市中部あたりにあったが、その後芦田川の土砂が堆積(たいせき)し沖積平野を形成していった。近世、福山城の築城以後干拓が進められ、川口や新涯(しんがい)などの新田が生まれた。明治末には箕島(みのじま)まで陸続きとなり、さらに昭和40年代に日本鋼管福山製鉄所（現、JFEスチール西日本製鉄所）の設置で箕島沖などが埋め立てられた。

［北川建次］

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