Akimoto Lake

Akimoto Lake is a lake that is technically classified as a reservoir. It straddles the border of the village of Kitashiobara and the town of Inawashiro, both in the Yama district of Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. Along with Hibara Lake and Onogawa Lake, it forms what is known as the "Inner Bandai Plateau Tri-Lake Formation".OverviewThe lake itself did not exist as late as the Meiji period in the area now known as the "Inner Bandai Plateau", which was once the site of the village of Hibara. In 1888, Mount Bandai—which is located to the south—erupted, and part of the mountainside caved in as a result of the accompanying phreatic explosion; a large rockslide—and then mudslide—in the direction of Hibara destroyed the village. It was previously assumed that one large phreatic explosion had occurred, but the destruction of the mountain is now thought to have been caused by several medium-sized explosions.Rivers like the Nagase River and Onogawa River that flow in the Inner Bandai area became clogged up due to the destruction of the mountain and mudslide; Lake Hibara, Lake Onogawa, Goshiki Marsh and other such dammed lakes were thus formed. Akimoto Lake was formed by the damming of Ōkura River and Nakatsu River. It is the deepest of the lakes in the inner Bandai tri-lake area, and is second to Lake Hibara in surface area.