Landform development of mountains and rivers in Japan

摘要

The geomorphic development of Japanese mountains and rivers during the Quaternary is the result of tectonic effects, sea-level change and climate change. The majority of the Japanese archipelago is being uplifted, with its mountains rising at rates ranging from 0.1 to 7 mm/y, as calculated by the mean altitudes of mountains under the assumption that they are in equilibrium between uplift and erosion. Filltop terraces built by climate-controlled accumulation of gravel are distributed throughout central and northern Japan. These terrace surfaces formed during glacial periods, and their surface ages are progressively younger upstream. This phenomenon was caused by sea-level lowering. These fluvial terraces are keys to reconstruction of geomorphic and topographic changes in Japanese mountain.