Geology of Japan - wikipedia Geology of Japan The island of Japan was separated from mainland Asia by back - arc spreading The islands of Japan are primarily the result of several large ocean movements occurring over hundreds of millions of years from the mid-Silurian to the Pleistocene as a result of the subduction of the Philippine Sea Plate beneath the continental Amurian Plate and Okinawa Plate to the south, and subduction of the Pacific Plate under the 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, opening the Sea of Japan around 15 million years ago. The Strait of Tartary and the Korea Strait opened much later. Japan is situated 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. Hot springs are numerous and have been developed as resorts. The geological features and bedrock composition of Japanese Islands Contents 1 Geological history 1.1 Orogeny phase 1.2 Island arc phase 1.3 Current state 1.3. 1 General information 1.3. 2 Geological structure 2 Research on Geology of Japan 3 Current geological hazards of Japanese Islands 4 See also 5 References 6 Further reading 7 External links Geological history Orogeny phase The breakup of Rodinia about 750 million years ago has formed the Panthalassa ocean, with the some rocks which eventually become Japan sitting on its eastern margin. Since the early Silurian ( 450 million years ago ), the subduction of the oceanic plates has started and continue to today, forming roughly 400 km wide orogeny at the convergent boundary. Several ( 9 or 10 ) oceanic plates were completely subducted and their remains has formed paired metamorphic belts. Most recent completely subducted plate was Izanagi Plate 95 million years ago. Currently the Philippine Sea Plate is subducting beneath the continental Amurian Plate and Okinawa Plate to the south at speed 4 cm / year, forming Nankai Trough and Ryukyu Trench. The Pacific Plate is subducting under the Okhotsk Plate to the north at speed 10 cm / year. Early stages of subduction - accretion has recycled the continental crust margin several times, leaving the majority of modern Japanese archipelago composed of rocks formed in Permian period or later. The topographical and tectonic maps of Japanese archipelago Japanese archipelago relief ( including submerged parts ) Island arc phase Around 23 million years ago, the now 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 Chūgoku region and Kyushu eastward, opening the Sea of Japan ( simultaneously with the Sea of Okhotsk ) around 15 - 20 million years ago, with likely freshwater lake state before the sea has rushed in. Around 16 million years ago, in Miocene period, a peninsula attached to the eastern coast of the Eurasian continent was well formed. About 11 million years before present, the 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. 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 Middle Pliocene to 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 Current state General information Overall, the geological composition of Japan is poorly understood. 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 larger proportion of volcanic products, while the parts facing 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. Geological structure The Japanese islands are divided into three major geological domains : Northeastern Japan, north of Tanakura fault ( which had high volcanic activity 14 - 17 million years before present ) Idosawa Fault Senya Fault Hidaka Mountains Kitakami Mountains Ōu Mountains Central Japan, between Tanakura fault and Itoigawa - Shizuoka Tectonic Line. Fossa Magna graben Tanna Fault Bōsō Hill Range Southwestern Japan, south of Itoigawa - Shizuoka Tectonic Line. The Southwestern Japan is further subdivided into several metamorphic belts stretched along Japan Median Tectonic Line. The parts of Japan north of Japan Median Tectonic Line ( `` Inner Zone '' ) contains many granitoid fragments dating from Paleogene to Cretaceous period intruding the older material, while south of the line ( `` Outer Zone '' ) is mostly accretionary complexes of Jurassic period or younger. Urasoko fault Fukozu Fault Neodani Fault Nojima Fault Hida orogenic belt ( Hida Mountains and Ryōhaku Mountains ) Sangun orogenic belt Maizuru orogenic belt Tanba - mino orogenic belt Ryoke orogenic belt Shimanto orogenic belt Sambagawa orogenic belt Chichibu orogenic belt Sambosan orogenic belt Beppu -- Shimabara graben Research on Geology of Japan The Geology of Japan is handled mostly by Geological Society of Japan ( ja ), with the following major periodicals : The Journal of the Geological Society of Japan ( ja ) - since 1893 Geological Studies ( 地質 学 論集 ) - since 1968 Geological Society of Japan News ( 日本 地質 学会 News ) - since 1998 Current Geological hazards of Japanese islands 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. Hot springs are numerous and have been developed as resorts. See also Japanese archipelago Seismicity in Japan List of earthquakes in Japan List of volcanoes in Japan List of mines in Japan References Jump up ^ Barnes, Gina L. ( 2003 ). `` Origins of the Japanese Islands : The New `` Big Picture '' '' ( PDF ). University of Durham. Retrieved August 11, 2009. Jump up ^ BOR - MING JAHN ( 2010 ). `` ACCRETIONARY OROGEN AND EVOLUTION OF THE JAPANESE ISLANDS -- IMPLICATIONS FROM A Sr - Nd ISOTOPIC STUDY OF THE PHANEROZOIC GRANITOIDS FROM SW JAPAN '' ( PDF ). American Journal of Science, Vol. 310, December, 2010, P. 1210 -- 1249, DOI 10.2475 / 10.2010. 02. Retrieved October 10, 2017. Jump up ^ Barnes, Gina L. ( 2003 ). `` Origins of the Japanese Islands : The New `` Big Picture '' '' ( PDF ). University of Durham. Retrieved August 11, 2009. Jump up ^ `` Formation history of the Japanese Islands ( 4 ) -- GLGArcs ''. glgarcs.rgr.jp. Retrieved July 16, 2017. Jump up ^ `` 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. Jump up ^ `` 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. Jump up ^ connelly@geo.arizona.edu. `` Southwest Japan ''. geo.arizona.edu. Retrieved July 16, 2017. Jump up ^ A. Taira, H. Okada, J.H. McD. Whitaker & A.J. Smith, The Shimanto Belt of Japan : Cretaceous - lower Miocene active - margin sedimentation Jump up ^ `` Sanbagawa belt ( Sambagawa metamorphic belt ), Shikoku Island, Japan ''. mindat.org. Retrieved July 16, 2017. Jump up ^ `` Chichibu belt from geo.arizona.edu ''. geo.arizona.edu. Retrieved July 16, 2017. Further reading Hashimoto, M., ed. ( 1990 ). Geology of Japan. Dordrecht : Kluwer Academic Publishers. ISBN 9780792309093. T. Moreno ; S.R. Wallis ; T. Kojima ; W. Gibbons ( eds. ). Geology of Japan ( Geological Society of London ) ( 2015 ). ISBN 978 - 1862397439. by - ( Author ), Takai, Fuyuji ; Tatsurō Matsumoto ; Ryūzō Toriyama ( 1963 ). Geology of Japan. University of California Press. External links Geological Survey of Japan - English homepage Geological Journal of Japan - English homepage External image Statistical map of location, size and depth of earthquakes near Japan National Archives of Japan : Tatoroyama no ki, survey of limestone cave in Mount Tatoro in Kozuke Province, 1837 ( Tenpo 8 ). 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Question: which process is responsible for forming the islands of japan
Answer: subduction