Editing Geography of Japan (section)

===Mountains and volcanoes===
{{main|List of mountains and hills of Japan by height}}

The mountainous islands of the Japanese archipelago form a crescent off the eastern coast of Asia.<ref name=loc>{{citation-attribution|1={{Cite book |url=https://www.loc.gov/item/91029874/ |title=Japan: a country study |series=Area handbook series |date=1992 |publisher=[[Federal Research Division]], [[Library of Congress]] |isbn=0-8444-0731-3 |editor-last=Dolan |editor-first=Ronald E. |edition=5th |location=Washington, D.C. |pages=72–84 |oclc=24247433 |access-date=2020-11-02 |archive-date=2021-07-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210729190534/https://www.loc.gov/item/91029874/ |url-status=live }}|editor-last2=Worden|editor-first2=Robert L.}}</ref> They are separated from the continent by the Sea of Japan, which serves as a protective barrier. Japan has 108 active [[volcano]]es (10% of the world's active volcanoes) because of active plate tectonics in the Ring of Fire.<ref name="volcanoes-japan"/>

Around 15 million years ago, the volcanic shoreline of the Asian continent was pushed out into a series of volcanic island arcs.<ref name="Barnes"/> This created the "back-arc basins" known as the [[Sea of Japan]] and [[Sea of Okhotsk]] with the formal shaping of the Japanese archipelago.<ref name="Barnes"/> The archipelago also has summits on mountain ridges that were uplifted near the outer edge of the [[continental shelf]].<ref name=loc/> About 73 percent of Japan's area is mountainous, and scattered plains and intermontane basins (in which the population is concentrated) cover only about 27 percent.<ref name=loc/> A long chain of mountains runs down the middle of the archipelago, dividing it into two halves: the "face", facing the Pacific Ocean, and the "back", toward the Sea of Japan.<ref name=loc/> On the Pacific side are steep mountains 1,500 to 3,000 meters high, with deep valleys and gorges.<ref name=loc/>

Central Japan is marked by the convergence of the three mountain chains—the [[Hida Mountains|Hida]], [[Kiso Mountains|Kiso]], and [[Akaishi Mountains|Akaishi mountains]]—that form the [[Japanese Alps]] (''Nihon Arupusu''), several of whose peaks are higher than {{convert|3000|m|ft}}.<ref name=loc/> The highest point in the Japanese Alps is [[Mount Kita]] at {{convert|3193|m|ft}}.<ref name=loc/> The highest point in the country is [[Mount Fuji]] (Fujisan, also erroneously called Fujiyama), a volcano dormant since 1707 that rises to {{convert|3776|m|ft|abbr=on}} above sea level in [[Shizuoka Prefecture]].<ref name=loc/> On the Sea of Japan side are plateaus and low mountain districts, with altitudes of 500 to 1,500 meters.<ref name=loc/>