Pillars Crafted from Lava
Like open pincers reaching into Lake Towada, Nakayama Peninsula and Ogura Peninsula jut out from the lakeshore. These are the visible walls of the inner caldera, the majority of which is hidden beneath the lake. This smaller caldera is newer than the larger Towada Caldera, resulting from volcanic activity that occurred after the original caldera was formed. The small islands ahead of you, as well as the rocky mountains in the background, were created with the same lava. As the lava cooled and hardened, it cracked and formed into pillar-like masses of rock. Due to their shape, such rock formations are called “columnar joints.”