Editing Ibaraki Prefecture (section)

==Geography==
[[File:Kanto Plain (1257569801).jpg|thumb|right|Rivers Shintone (left) and [[Tone River|Tone]] (right), [[Inashiki, Ibaraki|Inashiki]] and [[Kawachi, Ibaraki|Kawachi]] areas]]
[[File:Map of Ibaraki Prefecture Ja.svg|thumb|Map of Ibaraki Prefecture<br />{{legend0|#EAB|City}} {{legend0|#ED9|Town}} {{legend0|#ACF6C8|Village}} {{legend0|#E6E6FA|Lake}}]]
[[File:View from Art Tower Mito south.jpg|thumb|right|[[Mito, Ibaraki|Mito]]]]
[[File:Tsukuba Center & Mt.Tsukuba01.jpg|thumb|right|[[Tsukuba]]]]
[[File:Hitachi Sakura Festival, Ibaraki 02.jpg|thumb|right| [[Hitachi, Ibaraki|Hitachi]] Sakura Festival]]
[[File:Tsuchiura downtown Tsuchiura-city.jpg|thumb|right|[[Tsuchiura]]]]
[[File:Ibaraki prefectural road route 25 (Tsuchiura-Inashiki line) in Hitachino-Higashi,Ushiku city.jpg|thumb|right|[[Ushiku]]]]
Ibaraki Prefecture is the northeastern part of the [[Kantō region]], stretching between [[Tochigi Prefecture]] and the [[Pacific Ocean]] and bounded on the north and south by [[Fukushima Prefecture]] and [[Chiba Prefecture]]. It also has a border on the southwest with [[Saitama Prefecture]]. The northernmost part of the prefecture is mountainous, but most of the prefecture is a flat plain with many lakes and is part of [[Kantō Plain]].

===Natural parks===
{{As of|2012|04|01}}, 15% of the total land area of the prefecture was designated as [[List of national parks of Japan#History|Natural Parks]], namely [[Suigo-Tsukuba Quasi-National Park]], and nine Prefectural Natural Parks.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.env.go.jp/en/nature/nps/park/doc/files/np_6.pdf |title=General overview of area figures for Natural Parks by prefecture |publisher=[[Ministry of the Environment (Japan)|Ministry of the Environment]] |date=1 April 2012 |access-date=9 November 2013 |archive-date=21 April 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120421180819/http://www.env.go.jp/en/nature/nps/park/doc/files/np_6.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> Also, Ibaraki has one Prefectural Geopark. The Suigo-Tsukuba Quasi-National Park, also includes the northeast area of Chiba Prefecture.

===Mountains===
The northern third of the prefecture is mountainous and in the center is the Tsukuba Mountains (筑波 山地). Its main mountains are: [[mount Yamizo]] with an elevation of 1022 m on the border with Fukushima and Tochigi prefectures ([[tripoint]]), mount Takasasa with 922 m, [[mount Tsukuba]] with two peaks Nyotai-San at 877 m and Nantai-San at 871 m, mount Osho at 804 m, mount Hanazono at 798 m, and [[Mount Kaba (Ibaraki)|mount Kaba]] at 709 m.

===Water system===
The main rivers that flow through the prefecture include the [[Tone River|Tone]], [[Naka River (Tochigi Ibaraki)|Naka (Ibaraki)]], and [[Kuji River (Ibaraki)|Kuji]] rivers, all of which flow into the [[Pacific Ocean]]. Before the seventeenth century, the lower reaches of the Tone were different from its current layout, and the Tone ran south and emptied into [[Tokyo Bay]], and tributaries such as the Watarase and Kinu rivers had independent water systems.

The main tributaries of the Tone River basin are the [[Kinugawa River|Kinu River]] and Kokai River, which flow from north to south in the western part of the prefecture. The Shintone and Sakura rivers flow into Lake Nishiura.

The [[Edo River]] flows into Tokyo Bay; its source currently rises as an arm of the Tone River. In the past, the course of the Edo River was different, its source was corrected and diverted to the Tone River in the 17th century by the Tokugawa shogunate to protect the city of [[Edo]] (now Tokyo) from flooding.

The Tone River, in addition to the Edo River, is part of the southern border of Ibaraki Prefecture with Chiba Prefecture, and the [[Watarase River]], Tone River, Gongendō River, and [[Naka River (Saitama Tokyo)|Naka River (Saitama)]] in the southwestern border of Ibaraki with Saitama Prefecture. The Watarase River has become a small boundary of the southern border between Ibaraki and Tochigi prefectures.

From ancient times to the beginning of the Edo period, the lower reaches of the Tone River did not exist and the mouth of the Tone was in Tokyo Bay. On the plain was the [[Katori Sea]], which existed in ancient times,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://w.utakura.com/yokokator9|title=歌垣発祥の地を訪ねる「筑波山・香取の海」(in Japanese) - To visit the birthplace of Utagaki「Mt. Tsukuba ・ Katori Sea」-|access-date=November 12, 2021|website=utakura.com|archive-date=October 28, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211028211906/http://w.utakura.com/yokokator9|url-status=live}}</ref> the [[Lake Kasumigaura]] and other lagoons in present-day Chiba prefecture are remnants of that sea. Katori Sea was connected to the Kashima-nada (Pacific Ocean).

Lake Kasumigaura is currently divided into three lakes: Nishiura, Kitaura, Sotonasakaura. In addition, in the prefecture there are freshwater lagoons such as Hinuma, [[Lake Senba|Senba]], and Ushiku.

[[Fukuoka Dam]], is a dam that spans the Kokai River in [[Tsukubamirai, Ibaraki|Tsukubamirai]], it is one of the three largest dams in the Kantō region. Ryūjin Dam in [[Hitachiōta, Ibaraki|Hitachiōta]], is a beautiful dam on the Ryūjin River with a large pedestrian suspension bridge above the dam lake.

===Cities===
{{See also|List of cities in Ibaraki Prefecture by population}}
Thirty-two (32) cities are located in Ibaraki Prefecture:

{{div col|colwidth=18em}}
*'''[[Mito, Ibaraki|Mito]]''' (capital city of the prefecture)
*[[Bandō, Ibaraki|Bandō]]
*[[Chikusei, Ibaraki|Chikusei]]
*[[Hitachi, Ibaraki|Hitachi]]
*[[Hitachinaka, Ibaraki|Hitachinaka]]
*[[Hitachiōmiya]]
*[[Hitachiōta, Ibaraki|Hitachiōta]]
*[[Hokota, Ibaraki|Hokota]]
*[[Inashiki, Ibaraki|Inashiki]]
*[[Ishioka, Ibaraki|Ishioka]]
*[[Itako, Ibaraki|Itako]]
*[[Jōsō]]
*[[Kamisu, Ibaraki|Kamisu]]
*[[Kasama, Ibaraki|Kasama]]
*[[Kashima, Ibaraki|Kashima]]
*[[Kasumigaura, Ibaraki|Kasumigaura]]
*[[Kitaibaraki, Ibaraki|Kitaibaraki]]
*[[Koga, Ibaraki|Koga]]
*[[Moriya, Ibaraki|Moriya]]
*[[Naka, Ibaraki|Naka]]
*[[Namegata, Ibaraki|Namegata]]
*[[Omitama]]
*[[Ryūgasaki, Ibaraki|Ryūgasaki]]
*[[Sakuragawa, Ibaraki|Sakuragawa]]
*[[Shimotsuma, Ibaraki|Shimotsuma]]
*[[Takahagi, Ibaraki|Takahagi]]
*[[Toride, Ibaraki|Toride]]
*[[Tsuchiura]]
*[[Tsukuba, Ibaraki|Tsukuba]]
*[[Tsukubamirai, Ibaraki|Tsukubamirai]]
*[[Ushiku, Ibaraki|Ushiku]]
*[[Yūki, Ibaraki|Yūki]]
{{div col end}}

===Towns and villages===
<!-- template:Ibaraki refers to the above header -->
These are the towns and villages in each [[Districts of Japan|district]], 10 towns and 2 villages in 7 districts:
{{div col|colwidth=18em}}
*'''[[Higashiibaraki District, Ibaraki|Higashiibaraki District]]'''
**[[Ibaraki, Ibaraki|Ibaraki]]
**[[Ōarai, Ibaraki|Ōarai]]
**[[Shirosato, Ibaraki|Shirosato]]
*'''[[Inashiki District, Ibaraki|Inashiki District]]'''
**[[Ami, Ibaraki|Ami]]
**[[Kawachi, Ibaraki|Kawachi]]
**[[Miho, Ibaraki|Miho]]

*'''[[Kitasōma District, Ibaraki|Kitasōma District]]'''
**[[Tone, Ibaraki|Tone]]
*'''[[Kuji District, Ibaraki|Kuji District]]'''
**[[Daigo, Ibaraki|Daigo]]
*'''[[Naka District, Ibaraki|Naka District]]'''
**[[Tōkai, Ibaraki|Tōkai]]

*'''[[Sashima District, Ibaraki|Sashima District]]'''
**[[Goka, Ibaraki|Goka]]
**[[Sakai, Ibaraki|Sakai]]
*'''[[Yūki District, Ibaraki|Yūki District]]'''
**[[Yachiyo, Ibaraki|Yachiyo]]
{{div col end}}

===Mergers===
{{Main|List of mergers in Ibaraki Prefecture}}