Southern Yatsugatake Volcanic Group 八ヶ岳

Southern Yatsugatake Volcanic Group (南八ヶ岳, Minami-Yatsugatake), also known as just Yatsugatake, is a volcanic group of inactive volcanoes located on the border of Nagano Prefecture and Yamanashi Prefecture on Honshū in Japan.

Description

The Southern Yatsugatake Volcanic Group is part of the Yatsugatake Mountains. The southern group is defined as the mountains south of the Natsuzawa Pass. The highest peak of the mountains is Mount Aka and the elevation is 2,899 metres.

The southern Yatugatake mountains are steep and have alpine characteristics. The mountains of the Northern Yatsugatake Volcanic Group are gentler and lower. Mount Tateshina is also part of the Northern Yatsugatake mountains, but is listed separately.

This volcanic group is listed among the 100 famous mountains in Japan. There the mountains are listed as Yatsugatake.

These mountains are part of the Yatsugatake-Chūshin Kōgen Quasi-National Park.

Geology

The volcanoes are stratovolcanoes that are 1 million to 200,000 years old. The rock is mainly basalt and andesite.

List of peaks

The following major peaks make up part of the Southern Yatsugatake Volcanic Group and are listed by height:

From the south, to Natuzawa Pass, beyond which the Northern Yatsugatake Mountains begin, the peaks are:

• Mt. Amigasayama (2,524 m)
• Mt. Nishidake (2,398 m)
• Mt. Mitsugashira (2,580 m)
• Mt. Gongendake (2,715 m)
• Mt. Aka (2,899 m)
• Mt. Nakadake (2,700 m)
• Mt. Amidadake (2,805 m)
• Mt. Yoko (2,829 m)
• Mt. Iōdake (2,760 m)
• Mt. Akaiwanoatama (2,656 m)
• Mt. Minenomatsume (2,567 m)
• Natsuzawa Pass (2,423 m)

From Natsuzawa Pass, it is possible to descend to Sakuradaira, via O-ren Hut and Natsuzawa Kosen, or directly to Honzawa Onsen, or continue through the Northern Yatsugatake Mountains.