Muroto Geopark: Understanding The Moving Earth

Muroto UNESCO Global Geopark is characterized as a place "Where the ocean and the land meet-the forefront for the birth of new habitable land." This "meeting" takes place over a tectonic plate boundary known as the "Nankai Trough." Tectonic processes have formed the relief and landscape of Cape Muroto: continuous distribution of marine terraces is observed over the sandstone and mudstone base layers in this area. The Muroto Geopark is located at the southern tip of the Muroto Peninsula, southeastern Shikoku Island, and encompasses the administrative district of Muroto City. The geopark covers an area of 248.2 km(2), stretching 18.6 km from east to west and 27 km from north to south, and has a coastline length of 53.3 km. The wedge-shaped cape of Muroto is a distinctive feature of Muroto Geopark. This chapter describes the geological background and the use that Muroto Geopark is making of this by introducing specific aspects of Muroto's Geological Heritage.