Geology of Japan

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
back-arc spreading
.

The islands of

Okhotsk Plate
to the north.

Japan was originally attached to the eastern coast of the Eurasian continent. The subducting plates, being deeper than the Eurasian plate, pulled Japan eastward in the process of back-arc extension, opening the Sea of Japan around 15 million years ago.[1] The Strait of Tartary and the Korea Strait opened much later.

Japan is situated in a

Pacific Ring of Fire. Frequent low intensity earth tremors and occasional volcanic activity are felt throughout the islands. Destructive earthquakes, often resulting in tsunamis, occur several times per century. The most recent major quakes include the 2024 Ishikawa earthquake and tsunami, the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, the 2004 Chūetsu earthquake, and the Great Hanshin earthquake
of 1995.

The geological features and bedrock composition of the Japanese main islands

Geological history

Orogeny phase

Japanese archipelago relief (including submerged parts)

The breakup of

Early Silurian (450 million years ago),[3] the subduction of the oceanic plates started, and this process continues to the present day, forming a roughly 400 km wide orogeny at the convergent boundary. Several (9 or 10) oceanic plates were completely subducted and their remains have formed paired metamorphic belts. The most recent complete subduction of a plate was that of the Izanagi Plate 95 million years ago. Currently the Philippine Sea Plate is subducting beneath the continental Amurian Plate and the Okinawa Plate to the south at a speed of 4 cm/year, forming the Nankai Trough and the Ryukyu Trench. The Pacific Plate is subducting under the Okhotsk Plate to the north at a speed of 10 cm/year. The early stages of subduction-accretion have recycled the continental crust margin several times, leaving the majority of the modern Japanese archipelago composed of rocks formed in the Permian
period or later.

Island arc phase

Around 23 million years ago, western Japan was a coastal region of the Eurasia continent. The subducting plates, being deeper than the Eurasian plate, pulled parts of Japan which become modern

Tōhoku and Hokkaido were gradually uplifted from the seafloor, and terranes of Chūbu region were gradually accreted from the colliding island chains. The Strait of Tartary and the Korea Strait opened much later, about 2 million years ago. At the same time, a severe subduction of Fossa Magna graben have formed the Kantō Plain.[5]

Changes of land-forms of Japan over time
  • Japanese archipelago, Sea of Japan and surrounding part of continental East Asia in Early Miocene (23-18 Ma)
    Japanese archipelago, Sea of Japan and surrounding part of continental East Asia in Early Miocene (23-18 Ma)
  • Japanese archipelago, Sea of Japan and surrounding part of continental East Asia in Middle Pliocene to Late Pliocene (3.5-2 Ma)
    Japanese archipelago, Sea of Japan and surrounding part of continental East Asia in
    Late Pliocene
    (3.5-2 Ma)
  • Japanese archipelago at the Last Glacial Maximum about 20,000 years ago, thin black line indicates present-day shorelines   Vegetated land   Unvegetated land   Ocean
    Japanese archipelago at the Last Glacial Maximum about 20,000 years ago, thin black line indicates present-day shorelines
      Vegetated land
      Unvegetated land
      Ocean

Current state

General information

Overall, the geological composition of Japan is poorly understood. The Japanese islands are formed of several geological units parallel to the subduction front. The parts of islands facing oceanic plates are typically younger and display a larger proportion of volcanic products, while the parts facing the Sea of Japan are mostly heavily faulted and folded sedimentary deposits. In north-west Japan, the thick quaternary deposits make determination of the geological history especially difficult.[6]

Geological structure

The Japanese islands are divided into three major geological domains:

Research

The Geology of Japan is handled mostly by Geological Society of Japan [ja], with the following major periodicals:

Geological hazards

Japan is in a volcanic zone on the Pacific Ring of Fire. Frequent low intensity earth tremors and occasional volcanic activity are felt throughout the islands. Destructive earthquakes, often resulting in tsunamis, occur several times a century. The most recent major quakes include the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, the 2004 Chūetsu earthquake and the Great Hanshin earthquake of 1995.

See also

References

  1. University of Durham. Archived from the original
    (PDF) on April 28, 2011. Retrieved August 11, 2009.
  2. ISSN 1367-9120
    .
  3. S2CID 129989718. Archived from the original
    (PDF) on August 9, 2017. Retrieved October 10, 2017.
  4. University of Durham. Archived from the original
    (PDF) on April 28, 2011. Retrieved August 11, 2009.
  5. ^ "Formation history of the Japanese Islands (4) -- GLGArcs". glgarcs.rgr.jp. Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved July 16, 2017.
  6. ^ "Geology of Japan｜Geological Survey of Japan, AIST｜産総研地質調査総合センター / Geological Survey of Japan, AIST". gsj.jp. Retrieved July 16, 2017.
  7. ^ "Yurie SAWAHATA, Makoto Okada, Jun Hosoi, Kazuo Amano, "Paleomagnetic study of Neogene sediments in strike-slip basins along the Tanakura Fault". confit.atlas.jp. Retrieved July 16, 2017.
  8. ^ [email protected]. "Southwest Japan". geo.arizona.edu. Archived from the original on October 10, 2017. Retrieved July 16, 2017.
  9. ^ A. Taira, H. Okada, J. H. McD. Whitaker & A. J. Smith, The Shimanto Belt of Japan: Cretaceous-lower Miocene active-margin sedimentation
  10. ^ "Sanbagawa belt (Sambagawa metamorphic belt), Shikoku Island, Japan". mindat.org. Retrieved July 16, 2017.
  11. ^ "Chichibu belt from geo.arizona.edu". geo.arizona.edu. Archived from the original on December 5, 2017. Retrieved July 16, 2017.

Further reading

by - (Author),

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Geology of Japan.
External image
image icon Statistical map of location, size and depth of earthquakes near Japan


Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Geology_of_Japan&oldid=1205506493"