Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

236 results found

Fuji, Mount

(Encyclopedia)Fuji, Mount fo͞oˈjē-sän [key], volcanic peak, 12,389 ft (3,776 m) high, central Honshu, Japan, in Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park (472 sq mi/1,222 sq km; est. 1936). The highest mountain in Japan, i...

Chiba

(Encyclopedia)Chiba chēˈbä [key], city, capital of Chiba prefecture, central Honshu, Japan, on Tokyo Bay...

Aichi

(Encyclopedia)Aichi īˈchē [key], prefecture, 1,962 sq mi (5,082 sq km), central Honshu, Japan. Bounded on the S and W by Ise Bay, Aichi consists of a coastal plain (the Nobi Plain) a...

Shimonoseki

(Encyclopedia)Shimonoseki shēˈmōnōsāˌkē [key], city (1990 pop. 262,635), Yamaguchi prefecture, extreme SW Honshu, Japan. An important port and fishing center on Shimonoseki Strait, it is opposite Kitakyushu,...

island

(Encyclopedia)island, relatively small body of land surrounded entirely by water. (As the oceans form a continuous mass of water on the earth's surface, all continents are islands in the strict sense of the word.) ...

Kitakyushu

(Encyclopedia)Kitakyushu kētäˈkyo͞osho͞o [key], city (1990 pop. 1,026,455), Fukuoka prefecture, N Kyushu, Japan, on the Shimonoseki Strait between the Inland Sea and the Korea Strait. It was formed in 1963 by ...

Nara

(Encyclopedia)Nara näˈrä [key], city (1990 pop. 349,349), capital of Nara prefecture, S Honshu, Japan. An ancient cultural and religious center, it was founded in 706 by imperial decree and was modeled after Cha...

Kobe

(Encyclopedia)Kobe kōˈbā [key], city (1990 pop. 1,477,410), capital of Hyogo prefecture, S Honshu, Japan, on Osaka Bay. One of the leading Japanese ports, it is also a major industrial center and railway hub. It...

Osaka

(Encyclopedia)Osaka ōˈsäkä [key], city (1990 pop. 2,623,801), capital of Osaka prefecture, S Honshu, Japan, on Osaka Bay, at the mouth of the Yodo River. One of Japan's largest cities and principal industrial a...

tsunami

(Encyclopedia)tsunami tso͝onäˈmē [key], series of catastrophic ocean waves generated by submarine movements, which may be caused by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, landslides beneath the ocean, or an asteroid ...