Sanriku Coast

The Sanriku Coast (三陸海岸, sanriku kaigan) is a coastal region on the Pacific Ocean, extending from southern Aomori Prefecture,^[1] through Iwate Prefecture and northern Miyagi Prefecture in northeastern Honshū, which is Japan's main island.^[2] The name comes from the historical region of Sanriku (lit. "three riku"), referring to the former provinces of Rikuō, Rikuchū and Rikuzen.^[3]

Jōdo-ga-hama at the Rikuchu Kaigan National Park in 2007

Tourist destination

There are the Tanesashi Coast, the Rikuchu Kaigan National Park and the Minami-Sanriku Kinkazan Quasi-National Park in the Sanriku Coast region.^[4]

Earthquakes and tsunami

Main article: Seismicity of the Sanriku coast

See also: Sanriku earthquake (disambiguation)

In 1896, devastation following the tsunami

The bays of this ria coastline tend to amplify the destructiveness of tsunami waves.^[5] Significant events which devastated coastal communities include:

• 0869 Jogan Sanriku earthquake
• 1611 Keicho Sanriku earthquake
• 1896 Meiji Sanriku earthquake
• 1933 Showa Sanriku earthquake
• 1960 Valdivia earthquake^[6]

• 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami

Prior to 2011, the tsunami history of Sanriku might have been interpreted as a story of progressively fewer casualties due to human intervention and planning. The 2011 disaster created a new baseline for analysis of regularly occurring tsunamis.^[7]

See also

• Sanriku Railway
• Sanriku, Iwate
• Tōhoku region
• Tōsandō