TOTTORI – Mount Apoi on Hokkaido has been added to a list of global geoparks, the UNESCO-assisted Global Geoparks Network said.
The 810-meter (2,658-foot) mountain in the southern corner of Hokkaido became Japan’s eighth geopark, a natural area with geological or geomorphological features of scientific importance.
The network announced the decision Saturday at one of the international symposiums on geoparks being held in Tottori and other venues in western Japan.
Mount Apoi, situated near the Pacific coast east of the town of Samani, is one of the rare places where rocks called peridotite, derived from the Earth’s mantle, are exposed. It also provides a habitat for alpine plants despite its low altitude.
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Mount Apoi rises over the town of Samani in the southern corner of Hokkaido. | WAKIMASA, VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
