Exploring the Klippe Landscape
Atogura Klippe – One of Japan’s Top 100 Geological Sites
The mountains you see to the south of the Shimonita Town Hall have a fascinating geological story. The orange-colored peaks shown in the diagram below are made of rock layers that are completely different from those beneath them. Geologists believe these upper layers moved here due to powerful tectonic forces.
Mountains formed in this way are called klippes—also known as “rootless mountains.”
Interestingly, it’s still unknown exactly where these upper layers originated.
