Goshiki-numa
Encyclopedia
, is a cluster of five volcanic lakes
situated at the foot of Mount Bandai
in the center of the lake district of Bandai-kōgen, Fukushima Prefecture
, Japan
.
Goshiki-numa formed when Mount Bandai erupted
on July 15, 1888, destroying dozens of villages and killing approximately 500 people while creating hundreds of lakes and tarns
.
The eruption completely rearranged the landscape, creating the Bandai-kōgen plateau and damming local rivers. The eruption imparted mineral deposits to the Five Colored Lakes giving each of them their own delicate color, ranging from reddish green to cobalt blue
. The colors of each lake mysteriously fluctuate throughout the year with the weather. Since the eruption, Goshiki-numa has become a popular tourist destination. An approximately four-kilometer walking path from Lake Bishamon, the largest of the five lakes, to Lake Hibara affords people a view of all five lakes.
Crater lake
A crater lake is a lake that forms in a volcanic crater or caldera, such as a maar; less commonly and with lower association to the term a lake may form in an impact crater caused by a meteorite. Sometimes lakes which form inside calderas are called caldera lakes, but often this distinction is not...
situated at the foot of Mount Bandai
Mount Bandai
, also known as , , and , is a stratovolcano in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan.In a major eruption on July 15, 1888 the north and east parts of the caldera collapsed in a massive landslide, forming two lakes, Hibara-ko and Onogawa-ko, as well as several minor lakes called Goshiki-numa, or the 'Five...
in the center of the lake district of Bandai-kōgen, Fukushima Prefecture
Fukushima Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region on the island of Honshu. The capital is the city of Fukushima.-History:Until the Meiji Restoration, the area of Fukushima prefecture was known as Mutsu Province....
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
.
Goshiki-numa formed when Mount Bandai erupted
1888 Eruption of Mount Bandai
The 1888 eruption of Mount Bandai was a major volcanic eruption which occurred during the Meiji period of the Empire of Japan. The eruption occurred on 1888-07-15, and pyroclastic flows buried villages on the northern foot of the mountain, and devastated the eastern part of Bandai region, Fukushima...
on July 15, 1888, destroying dozens of villages and killing approximately 500 people while creating hundreds of lakes and tarns
Tarn (lake)
A tarn is a mountain lake or pool, formed in a cirque excavated by a glacier. A moraine may form a natural dam below a tarn. A corrie may be called a cirque.The word is derived from the Old Norse word tjörn meaning pond...
.
The eruption completely rearranged the landscape, creating the Bandai-kōgen plateau and damming local rivers. The eruption imparted mineral deposits to the Five Colored Lakes giving each of them their own delicate color, ranging from reddish green to cobalt blue
Cobalt blue
Cobalt blue is a cool, slightly desaturated blue color, historically made using cobalt salts of alumina. It is used in certain ceramics and painting; the different cobalt pigment smalt, based on silica, is more often used directly in tinted transparent glasses...
. The colors of each lake mysteriously fluctuate throughout the year with the weather. Since the eruption, Goshiki-numa has become a popular tourist destination. An approximately four-kilometer walking path from Lake Bishamon, the largest of the five lakes, to Lake Hibara affords people a view of all five lakes.