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Japan Geography Quiz | Reading Kinki Lakes, Basins, Peninsulas, and Straits, Set 5

1 / 100.0s

Problem 1

Trace water flowing from the southern end of Lake Biwa toward Osaka Bay.

Which lists the river names in the correct downstream order?

View explanation

Water leaving Lake Biwa is called the Seta River in Shiga Prefecture and the Uji River in Kyoto Prefecture. After it meets the Katsura and Kizu rivers, it continues as the Yodo River toward Osaka Bay. An order running from the Yodo to the Seta reverses the downstream direction.

Problem 2

Locate the lowland in the southwestern Kyoto Basin where three rivers converge.

Which correctly pairs the three converging rivers with the river name downstream of their confluence?

View explanation

The Katsura, Uji, and Kizu rivers converge in the southwestern Kyoto Basin, and their downstream course is the Yodo River. The Kamo joins the Katsura, but it is not one of the three rivers in this named confluence. The Yura belongs to a separate drainage system that reaches the Sea of Japan.

Problem 3

Pieces of wood are placed in rivers at two locations in Kyoto Prefecture. Point A is on the upper Yura River, and Point B is on the upper Katsura River. Consider only their natural downstream courses, ignoring temporary retention in tributaries.

Which correctly identifies the sea each piece will ultimately head toward?

View explanation

Northern Kyoto drainage systems represented by the Yura River flow to the Sea of Japan. The Katsura, by contrast, meets the Uji and Kizu, continues as the Yodo, and empties into Osaka Bay. Rivers within the same prefecture can therefore reach different seas across a watershed.

Problem 4

Travel north to south through Nara Prefecture and compare the landforms on either side of the Yoshino River corridor, which runs roughly east to west near the prefecture's center.

Which correctly matches the representative landforms north and south of this boundary?

View explanation

The Median Tectonic Line runs roughly east to west along the Yoshino River and broadly divides Nara into northern lowland including the Nara Basin and southern mountains centered on the Yoshino Mountains. The key is not to reverse the north–south locations of the basin and mountains.

Problem 5

Consider the route by which rain falling in the Nara Basin gathers into rivers, crosses the prefectural boundary, and heads toward the sea.

Which correctly describes the route from the basin into the Osaka Plain?

View explanation

Rivers in the Nara Basin gather into the Yamato River. It cuts through between the Ikoma and Kongō mountains and enters the Osaka Plain. The Kino River also flows through Nara Prefecture, but it is not the drainage route described for the Nara Basin as a whole.

Problem 6

Connect the process that formed the Osaka Plain's lowlands with their present-day topographic characteristics.

Which is the most appropriate explanation?

View explanation

Much of the Osaka Plain is a low alluvial plain formed by sediment deposited during flooding of the Yodo and Yamato rivers. Its origin and low elevation make it vulnerable to floods and inundation; explanations centered on volcanoes or glaciers do not fit this landform.

Problem 7

Study a lowland in eastern Osaka Plain bounded by large rivers to the north and south and higher ground to the east and west.

Which correctly identifies the features surrounding the Neyagawa basin by direction?

View explanation

The Neyagawa basin is bounded by the Yodo River to the north, the Yamato River to the south, the Ikoma Mountains to the east, and the Uemachi Plateau to the west. Even if all four features are named, swapping the rivers' north–south positions or the highlands' east–west positions makes the map incorrect.

Problem 8

Use a topographic map to explain why rain falling in northern and southern Hyōgo Prefecture drains toward different seas.

Which correctly describes the position and orientation of the mountain region forming the watershed?

View explanation

In Hyōgo, the Chūgoku Mountains run east–west somewhat north of the prefecture's center and form the watershed between the Sea of Japan and Seto Inland Sea sides. The Rokkō Mountains are in southeastern Hyōgo and do not form the prefecture-wide divide between those two seas.

Problem 9

Move clockwise around Awaji Island and identify the straits separating it from Honshū, Wakayama Prefecture, and Shikoku.

Which correctly matches each direction from Awaji Island with a strait?

View explanation

North of Awaji Island, the Akashi Strait separates it from Kobe. The Kitan Strait lies to the southeast toward Wakayama, and the Naruto Strait lies to the west toward Shikoku. Reversing Akashi and Naruto would also reverse the positions of Honshū and Shikoku.

Problem 10

Follow the coast of the Kii Peninsula from Wakayama Prefecture on the west to Mie Prefecture on the east.

Which correctly describes the adjacent waters and coastal landforms?

View explanation

Wakayama lies in the southwestern Kii Peninsula and faces Tokushima across the Kii Channel to the west. On the peninsula's eastern side in Mie, shallow sandy shores are common along Ise Bay, while a complex ria coast extends from Ise-Shima to Owase on the Kumano-nada side. Because straight sections also occur farther south on the Kumano-nada coast, treating the entire coast as one landform is inaccurate.