| Zaō Mountains | |
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| 蔵王連峰 | |
The Zaō Mountains as seen from the Shiroishi River, an Abukuma River tributary, at the cherry blossom season
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| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 1,841 m (6,040 ft)[1][2] |
| Listing |
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| Coordinates | 38°08′38″N 140°26′24″E / 38.144°N 140.44°E / 38.144; 140.44[1] |
| Geography | |
  Zaō Mountains Location on Honshu Show map of Tohoku, Japan Zaō Mountains Zaō Mountains (Japan) Show map of Japan | |
| Country | Japan |
| Island | Honshu |
| Prefectures | Yamagata and Miyagi |
| Geology | |
| Mountain type | Complex volcano |
| Last eruption | May 1940[1] |
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The Zaō Mountains (蔵王連峰, Zaō Renpō), commonly called Mount Zaō, are a complex cluster of stratovolcanoes on the border between Yamagata Prefecture and Miyagi PrefectureinJapan. The central volcano of the group includes several lava domes and a tuff cone, Goshiki-dake, which contains a crater lake named "Okama". Also known as the "Five Color Pond" (五色沼, goshiki numa) because it changes color depending on the weather, it lies in a crater formed by a volcanic eruption in the 1720s. The lake is 360 metres (1,200 ft) in diameter and 60 m (200 ft) deep, and is one of the main tourist attractions in the area.
One striking feature of Zaō's famous ski resorts are the "frost-covered trees" (樹氷, juhyō) that appear in mid-winter. Strong wind over the nearby lake fling water droplets which freeze against the trees and their branches, until near-horizontal icicles begin to form. Falling snow settles on the ice formations, and the end result is a grotesque figure of a tree. The effect of a full forest of such trees gives visitors a ghostly impression. Zaō is one of the 100 Famous Japanese Mountains.
Rotaria rotatoria[3] and Pinnularia spp.[4] are found in the acidic Okama Lake.[5]
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| Hokkaidō |
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| Tōhoku region Jōshinetsu region |
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| Kantō region |
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| Chūbu region |
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| Western Japan |
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| Geographic |
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