Shikotsu-Toya National Park

is a national park in the central part of the island of Hokkaidō

Hokkaido

, formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is Japan's second largest island; it is also the largest and northernmost of Japan's 47 prefectural-level subdivisions. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaido from Honshu, although the two islands are connected by the underwater railway Seikan Tunnel...

, 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...

. Named after the volcanic caldera lakes of Lake Shikotsu

Lake Shikotsu

is a caldera lake in Chitose, Hokkaidō, Japan. It is a part of the Shikotsu-Toya National Park.- Geography :Lake Shikotsu is located in the south-west part of Hokkaidō. It has an average depth of and a maximum depth of , making it the second deepest lake in Japan, after Lake Tazawa...

 and Lake Tōya

Lake Toya

is a volcanic caldera lake in Shikotsu-Toya National Park, Abuta District, Hokkaidō, Japan. The stratovolcano of Mount Usu lies on the southern rim of the caldera. The lake is nearly circular, being 10 kilometers in diameter from east-west and 9 kilometers from North-South. The lakes biggest town,...

, it has a total area of 993.02 square kilometers. The popular hot spring

Hot spring

A hot spring is a spring that is produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater from the Earth's crust. There are geothermal hot springs in many locations all over the crust of the earth.-Definitions:...

 resort of Noboribetsu is also within the park.

It can be divided into roughly five areas:

• The Mount Yōtei
  Mount Yotei
  is an active stratovolcano located in Shikotsu-Toya National Park, Hokkaidō, Japan. It is also called , because it resembles the more famous Mount Fuji. The mountain is also known as and . It is one of the 100 famous mountains in Japan.-Geology:...
  
   area
• The area around Lake Tōya, Mount Usu
  Mount Usu
  is an active stratovolcano in the Shikotsu-Toya National Park, Hokkaidō, Japan. It has erupted four times since 1900: in 1910, 1944–45 , August 7, 1977, and on March 31, 2000. To the north lies Lake Toya...
  
   and Showashinzan
  Showashinzan
  is a volcanic lava dome in the Shikotsu-Toya National Park, Hokkaidō, Japan, next to Mount Usu. The mountain was created between 1944 and 1945. Initially, a series of strong earthquakes shook the area, and wheat fields were rapidly uplifted. Lava broke through the surface and the current peak...
  
   (Tōya Caldera and Usu Volcano Geopark)
• The area around the hot springs of , , and
• The area around , , and
• The area around , , and

Notable features

At the foot of Mount Tarumae on the north-west side one can find the impressive moss-covered cavern or Koke-no-domon.

External links

• Wikitravel: Shikotsu-Toya National Park
• Shikotsu-Toya National Park Biodiversity Center of Japan

• Tōya Usu Geopark (English, Japanese)