Toya no Kubi
A glimpse of the Goto Islands’ underlying structure
The hilly peninsula in north-central Fukue Island called Toya no Kubi has for millennia created a safe haven against typhoons and other storms sweeping off the Pacific Ocean. The clearly visible bands across the peninsula’s side show the tremendous forces of crustal deformation and illustrate the structure of the Goto Islands.
The Goto Group (the original islands which moved down from Asia) are here steep hills that meet the basaltic lava flows to the west. A fault running northeast to southwest is clearly visible in the steep vertical tilting of the structural layers across the peninsula. At an exposed area near the neck of the peninsula, footprints, most likely of an early alligator, are visible in the exposed sedimentary rock.