To the west is the Ou Mountain Range, which is characterized by a row of volcanoes. In the Ou Mountains, there is Mt. Iwate, the highest peak in Iwate. It is thought that Mt. Iwate was born about 300,000 years ago, and it is a living volcano that has historically repeated eruptive activities from its birth to the present day. About 300 years ago, lava flowed out from Mt. Iwate and solidified, creating a very unique landscape. Despite such destruction caused by the Ou Mountains, many hot springs are also created due to the heat of the volcano, which gives blessings to the people living at the foot of the mountains.

To the east, the Kitakami Mountain Range, which cover two-thirds of the area of ​​Iwate, magnificently extend toward the Pacific Ocean. Within the Kitakami Mountains, more than 60 of the mountains are over 1,000 meters high, with the highest being Mt. Hayachine. The Kitakami Mountains are made up of very old strata and in contrast to the Ou Mountains, they are no volcanoes. Furthermore, the Kitakami Mountains are blessed with resources such as iron and gold. Due to the abundance of iron sand and wood resources, it also has a history of conducting "tatara iron making”, which is where iron sand is reduced through the heat of combustion of charcoal in order to obtain iron.

The mountains of Iwate are covered with deciduous broad-leaved forests, and the main tree species are Mongolian oak, chestnut, oak, horse chestnut, walnut, maple, and beech. The blessings that deciduous broad-leaved forests offer are very diverse, including abundant nuts, wild plants and mushrooms, large mammals such as deer, boars and bears, and fish such as salmon and trout. Such blessings have helped to sustain the lives of the people of Iwate since the Jomon period, more than 10,000 years ago.

“Beast”

Iwate, with its multiple deep mountains, is also a wild land that is home to the beasts. Various wild mammals live in Iwate and have been coexisting with humans since ancient times.

The black bear which stands at the top of the forest ecosystem, inhabits almost the entire area of ​​Iwate and is one of the largest mammals in Japan. Sika deer, a large wild herbivore mammal living in the northern parts of the main island of Japan is also a particularly prosperous wild animal in Iwate. The Japanese serow, which is designated as a national special natural monument as an endemic species of Japan, also inhabits almost the entire area of ​​Iwate. In addition, Japanese monkeys, Japanese wild boars, Japanese red foxes, Japanese raccoon dogs, Japanese badgers, Japanese marten, flying squirrels, Japanese squirrels, hares, etc. all inhabit this area.

In the past, Japanese wolves and Japanese river otters also lived there, but they have become extinct due to overfishing and extermination.

Since the Jomon period, these wild animals have been an indispensable blessing of nature for people living in Iwate, as they provided both meat and fur. However recently, these wild animals are often thought of as vermin that damage fields and livestock. Recently, as they have been making frequent appearances in human settlements and damaging crops, it has become a social problem. The question of how humans and beasts can coexistence is now increasingly asked.