Hakusan National Park
Hakusan is a national park and biosphere reserve in Japan, located in the prefectures of Gifu, Ishikawa, Toyama and Fukui, 30 km southeast of Kanazawa and 100 km north of Kyoto. The National Park was formed in 1962, and in 1980 it entered the global network of biosphere reserves.
The area of the park is 477 km2. The park is located in a mountainous area. Altitude ranges from 170 to 2702 meters. Its main peak is Mount Hakusan. At the foot of the mountain, the Tadori River flows. There are many lakes and ponds in the park. In particular, Lake Sandzagaike, located in one of the craters of the volcano, is ice-covered all year round.
The plant world of Hakusan Park varies depending on altitude. Small heights are characterized by coniferous forests with a predominance of species such as Maris' fir, the pine is spinous and cryptometry is Japanese. With increasing heights, the terrain becomes rich in species such as narcissotzvetsova and ostide finger-thief, at times you can find single coniferous trees. The park houses animals such as Japanese macaques, white-breasted bears, spotted deer, as well as golden birds and hot-headed eagles.
Mount Hakusan is one of the three sacred mountains of Japan, there are no permanent settlements on it. At the foot of the mountain there are several villages, the total population of which is approximately 30 thousand people.
