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Fossa Magna

earth science Maturity 7-9 Next article →

Japan has a very large area of low land.

Tectonic map of southwest Japan
Tectonic map of southwest Japan

This area is called the Fossa Magna. The name is Latin for "great crevasse." A crevasse is a deep crack in the ground. A man named Heinrich Edmund Naumann gave it this name. Many people think it is just a line. But the Fossa Magna is a big area. It is not the same as the Itoigawa-Shizuoka Tectonic Line. That is a single line in the earth.

Tectonic map of southwest Japan
Tectonic map of southwest Japan

You can visit this place to see many things. The town of Itoigawa is a good place to start. It sits right above a big line in the earth. You can find many types of rocks there. You can also find many minerals. There is a place called the Fossa Magna Museum. It opened on April 25, 1994. It is in the Niigata Prefecture. The museum is part of a special area. This area is the Itoigawa UNESCO Global Geopark. There is also a place called Fossa Magna Park. It is a geopark for people to explore.

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File:Tectonic_map_of_southwest_Japan.png
Tectonic_map_of_southwest_Japan.png
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