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Sanriku Coast

geography Maturity 7-9 Next article →

The Sanriku Coast is a special place by the Pacific Ocean. It sits on the northeastern part of Honshu. Honshu is the main island of Japan. This coastline stretches through three different areas. It starts in southern Aomori Prefecture. Then it goes through Iwate Prefecture. Finally, it reaches northern Miyagi Prefecture.

Jyoudogahama
Jyoudogahama

This long coast is very famous for its shape. It is a ria coastline with many deep bays.

A ria coastline is made of many jagged inlets. These bays can change how the ocean acts. They tend to make tsunami waves even more powerful. A tsunami is a very large wave caused by an earthquake. The shape of the land can amplify the waves. This means the waves can become much more destructive. The deep bays help focus the energy of the water. This makes the coast a very intense place to study.

The name Sanriku has a very old meaning. It translates to "three riku" in English. This name comes from three former provinces. Those provinces were Rikuō, Rikuchū, and Rikuzen. People have lived in these areas for a long time. There are many beautiful parks for visitors to see. You can visit the Rikuchu Kaigan National Park. You can also see the Tanesashi Coast. The Minami-Sanriku Kinkazan Quasi-National Park is another option.

Jyoudogahama
Jyoudogahama

History shows that big waves have hit this coast many times. There was a large earthquake and tsunami in 869. Another one happened in 1611. In 1896, the Meiji Sanriku earthquake caused great damage.

Sanriku Great Tsunami
Sanriku Great Tsunami

There were more large events in 1933 and 1960. The 1960 event was linked to the Valdivia earthquake. A very large disaster hit the area in 2011. This was the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. These events are recorded in history books.

Scientists look at Sanriku to learn about the sea. Before 2011, people thought they were getting better at safety. They used human planning to reduce the harm from waves. They thought fewer people were getting hurt over time. The 2011 disaster changed how they look at this. It created a new baseline for their work. Now, they study these regular tsunamis in a new way. This helps them understand how to protect coastal towns.

Sanriku Great Tsunami
Sanriku Great Tsunami
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File:Jyoudogahama.jpg
Jyoudogahama.jpg
File:Sanriku Great Tsunami.JPG
Sanriku Great Tsunami.JPG
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