A4+Naturally+Occuring+Phenomenons

=**   Welcome to Sheldon and Davids' page on Naturally Occurring Phenomenon **=
 * Volcanoes - 火山** (kazan) **Tsunami - 津波** (tsunami) **Earthquakes - 地**震 (jishin) ** Hot Spring - ** **温泉 (**onsen**)**



The location of japan and the surrounding islands is in a area were several oceanic and continental plates meet. By being in the location, Japan is susceptible to frequent earthquakes, and the formation of volcanos. The Tsunamis’ in Japan occur when a earthquake occur close to the ocean. Because of the large population condensed into the cities of japan, the earthquakes and tsunamis have such a large impact.

__**Earthquakes**__

Earthquakes play a major roll in Japanese history because of the mass destruction they cause. In Japan, earthquakes are so frequent they came up with there own scale of rating them. In North America, earthquakes are commonly measured using the Richter scale. There is a different scale for earthquakes in t he japan, its called the shindo scale. The Shindo scale measures the intensity of the earthquake or the degree of shaking, while the Richter scale measures the magnitude of the earthquake by representing the magnitude with a single number. Japan has had many devastating earthquakes, but the worst in Japanese history would be the Great Kanto Earthquake. This earthquake hit near Tokyo in 1923, killing around 100,000-140,000 people. Another more recent earthquake was in 1995, and it hit in the city of Kobe. This strong earthquake completely destroyed over a 100,000 homes and injured and killed thousands. Because of the frequency of earthquakes Japanese families have equipped themselves with a survival kit to prepare themselves in the event of an earthquake. [] earthquake video

__** Volcanoes **__

A volcano is an opening, or rupture, in a planet's surface or crust, which allows hot magma, ash and gases to escape from below the surface. Volcanoes are generally found where tectonic plates are diverging or converging. There is currently over 100 active volcanoes in Japan today. The largest of the active ones is called Mount Aso, located in Kyuushuu, Japan. With its circumference being about 120km, and height 1592m it makes Mount Aso one of the largest volcanoes in the world. It has 5 peaks, Mt. Neko, Mt. Taka, Mt. Naka, Mt. Eboshi, and Mt. Kishima. Another famous active volcano is Mount Fuji located on the island Honshuu. It is one of the "Three Holy Mountains" in Japan. Mount Fuji stands at 3776m high.

__** Onsen **__ An onsen is a hotspring, they use water that is naturally heated. They were traditionaly used as a public bath, but now draw tourists from around the world. Onsens are seperated into single- sex baths, it use to be that men and woman would bath together, but the laws have changed. When using an onsen you are not permitted to wear a swimsuit, and they usually prefer you to use a small towel. Most of the time you arent allowed to use the towel in the bath because it is considered unclean, the main purpose of the towel is for "coverage" when you walk from the washing area to the bath. The onsen usually has a peacful enviroment around it, people may have conversations and sometimes relaxing pipe music is played, rowdiness usually isnt tollerated. You may not have a noticeable tattoo if you want to use an onsen, it must be hidden or not spotted. The original reason for this rule was to keep out the Yakuza (a gang) and other members of organized criminal gangs.




 * __Tsunami__**

The Japanese word tsunami, means harbor wave. Japan is subjected to tsunamis because they have a large number of earthquakes. The tsunamis are so devastating to japan because a majority of cities are along the coastline due to the vast mountainous terrain covering muc h of the country. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, other underwater explosions, landslides all have the potential to create a tsunami. Some measures have been taken to protect japan, for instance Japan has built sea walls in some areas in hopes of lessening the force the tsunami will have. There has been around 195 tsunamis recorded in japan. This number is so great because of japans location and susceptibility to earthquakes due to the shifting of the tectonic plates. The last big tsunami that hit Japan was in 1993 when a earthquake hit Hokkaido, it triggered a tsunami which hit Okushiri Island. This tsunami in particular measured approximately 100 feet, it devastated the houses on the island within minutes. This aftermath of this was over 200 deaths from the wave and fires created by the earthquake. Japan constantly has to warn it citizens of possible tsunamis because of the frequent earthquakes.