Hi. I really like geology. What's Japan's geology like? Is it mostly sentimentary rocks? Is it volcanic rocks? It's a pretty long country so I'm guessing it varies a bit. Are there any karst regions? If so do those regions have any famious caves? All I am super aware of is it's near a fault line so earthquakes and tsunamis are common.
If anyone knows any cool facts please share I really like rocks.
From your questions, it may be not the kind of facts you wanted but a megathrust earthquake "may" happen in the future. The last one was the 1944 Tonankai earthquake followed by 1946 Nankaido earthquake (they often occur in pair). Those earthquakes have a return period of 90-200 years, so... (check the Nankai megathrust earthquakes wiki article if you want to know more)
Also because of that (and also the frequency of the earthquakes), they really share a special relation with sismology and geology in general. From the engineering of building that can resist earthquake to the detection of earthquakes with a system that can "almost" predict when earthquakes will happen and the awareness of the population, it's pretty crazy to see that kind of relation between a society and a scientific discipline.
As for the rock, I guess it should be volcanic rock since there is mount fuji (Japan is also a part of the ring of fire).
Edit: well, nevermind, the part facing the Pacific ocean is mainly volcanic rock while the part facing the sea of japan is mainly sedimentary rocks. That's interesting x) Also, I said Mt. Fuji but I just checked a list of volcanoes in Japan and yeah, pretty long list...
A few basic word also if you don't know them already 地震 (じしん) -> Earthquakes 津波 (つなみ) -> Tsunami 火山 (かざん) -> Volcano
地質学 (ちしつがく) -> Geology
Geology is like 地 (earth, soil) + 質 (quality, property) + 学 (study), so it's like "Study of the property/quality of the earth/soil) btw.
You can also use the "#geology" hashtag if you want to browse geology term in the dictionary and maybe discover some fun term if you want
Great question — Japan's geology is super dynamic! It’s mostly volcanic and metamorphic rocks due to all the tectonic activity. There are karst areas too, like Akiyoshidai in slope Yamaguchi, home to Akiyoshidō, one of Japan’s most famous limestone caves.
I often proofread scientific papers in that field, but I've never gotten my hands on one from Japan. Closest I've gotten is Tamil Nadu (India). I think we've gotten some from Indonesia too, but I can't remember the details.
The only "fun fact" I can actually remember is that Tottori Sand Dunes is the largest sand dune in Japan. Also that Okinawa has a lot of coral limestones and subsequently quite a bit of karstification and caves.
I vaguely remember Japan having some cool hoodoos, but that might just be the Awa Sand Pillars.
Also a good amount of large volcanic aquifers (under Mt. Fuji and Mt. Aso). Most famous being the one supplying Kumamoto.
If you're into the "cool rocks" side of geology, check out Jade Beach in Niigata (where I live! - not that spot of Niigata, but further up). The beach there has "pre-tumbled" rocks, pretty amazing. Unfortunately, jade itself is quite hard to find, but tons of other beautiful rocks (best if you can keep them wet, or have a rock tumbler).
About 20 minutes away they have an awesome rock museum because there is a huge fault line there (fossa magma is the name, I believe) that is what caused this huge creation of jade and other awesome rocks.
