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Hida Mountains (飛騨山脈)
Northern Alps (北アルプス)
Mountain Range
River Kurobe Source Part in Hida Mountains
Country	Japan
Prefectures	Toyama, Nagano, Gifu
Highest point	Mount Okuhotaka
- elevation	3,190 m (10,466 ft)
Length	105 km (65 mi)
Width	25 km (16 mi)

South half part of Hida Mountains

Mount Tateyama

Mount Yari and Mount Hotaka

Mount Shirouma

The Hida Mountains (飛騨山脈, Hida Sanmyaku^?), or Northern Alps (北アルプス, Kita Arupusu^?), is a Japanese mountain range which stretches through Nagano, Toyama and Gifu prefectures. A small portion of the mountains also reach into Niigata Prefecture. William Gowland coined the phrase "Japanese Alps" during his time in Japan, but he was only referring to the Hida Mountains when he used that name. The Kiso and Akaishi mountains received the name in the ensuing years.

[edit] Geography

The layout of the Hida Mountains forms a large Y-shape. The southern peaks are the lower portion of the Y-shape, with the northern peaks forming two parallel bands separated by a deep V-shaped valley. It is one of the steepest V-shaped valleys in Japan. The Kurobe Dam, Japan's largest damn, is an arch dam located in the Kurobe Valley in the central area of the mountains. The western arm of mountains, also known as the Tateyama Peaks (立山連峰 Tateyama Renpō), are dominated by Mount Tsurugi and Mount Tate. The eastern arm, known as the Ushiro Tateyama Peaks (後立山連峰 Ushiro Tateyama Renpō), are dominated by Mount Shirouma and Mount Kashimayari.

[edit] Major peaks

• Mount Shirouma, 2,932 m (9,619 ft)
• Mount Kashimayari, 2,889 m (9,478 ft)
• Mount Tate, 3,015 m (9,892 ft)
• Mount Tsubakuro, 2,763 m (9,065 ft)
• Mount Tsurugi, 2,999 m (9,839 ft)
• Mount Noguchigoro, 2,924 m (9,593 ft)
• Mount Yari, 3,180 m (10,433 ft)
• Mount Hotaka, 3,190 m (10,466 ft)
• Mount Norikura, 3,026 m (9,928 ft)
• Mount Ontake, 3,067 m (10,062 ft)

[edit] See also

• Japanese Alps
  • Kiso Mountains (Central Alps)
  • Akaishi Mountains (Southern Alps)

[edit] External links

• Northern Alps Lodging Cooperative (Japanese)
• Northern Alps Information for Gifu Prefecture (Japanese)

[edit] References

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