Yamagata Basin

Japanese: 山形盆地 - やまがたぼんち

A basin in the central eastern part of Yamagata Prefecture. It has an area of about 400 ^km2 . It is shaped like the bottom of a boat, elongated from north to south. The eastern half is occupied by three major alluvial fans, the Mamigasaki River, the Tachiya River, and the Ran River, which developed on the western foot of the Ou Mountains. In the center, the Mogami River forms a wide floodplain, and in the western half, the alluvial fans formed by the Sagae River have developed. A fault line is thought to exist on the eastern edge, and hot springs such as Higashine and Tendo spring up along this line. The south of the basin is bordered by a mudflow extruded from Mount Zao, which separates it from the Kaminoyama Basin. To the west is Bandai-Asahi National Park, which includes Mount Gassan (1,984m) and Mount Asahi (1,870m), and to the southeast is Zao National Park, making the surrounding area rich in tourist attractions. During the Edo period, the villages in the mountains produced indigo and the plains produced safflower as cash crops, but in the Meiji period, sericulture flourished, and all the indigo and safflower fields were turned into mulberry fields. After World War II, sericulture fell into decline, and instead, fruit cultivation of cherries, apples, peaches, and grapes developed. Rice is also grown on a large scale. Fruit canning factories can be seen in the towns within the basin. The center is Yamagata City.

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

Japanese:

山形県中央東部にある盆地。面積約 400km²。南北に長い船底形の形状を示す。東半分は奥羽山脈の西麓に発達する馬見ヶ崎川，立谷川，乱川の三大扇状地が占め，中央部には最上川が広い氾濫原を形成し，西半分には寒河江川の形成する扇状地が発達。東縁には断層線があると推定され，東根，天童などの温泉はこの線上に湧出している。盆地の南は蔵王山より押出された泥流で上山盆地と境される。西には月山 (1984m) ，朝日岳 (1870m) を含む磐梯朝日国立公園，南東には蔵王国定公園があり，周辺には観光資源が豊富。江戸時代には，山の手の村々は青苧 (あおそ) ，平野部ではベニバナを生産し，換金作物としていたが，明治になってからは，養蚕業が盛んになり，青苧畑もベニバナ畑もすべてクワ畑となった。第2次世界大戦後は養蚕が不振に陥り，かわってサクランボ，リンゴ，モモ，ブドウなどの果樹栽培が発達した。米作も大規模に行われている。盆地内の町々には，果物の缶詰工場がみられる。中心は山形市。

出典　ブリタニカ国際大百科事典小項目事典ブリタニカ国際大百科事典小項目事典について　情報

<<: Yamagata-Rovanov Agreement

>>: Yamagata Banto