The is a coastal region on the Pacific Ocean, extending from southern Aomori Prefecture,[1] through Iwate Prefecture and northern Miyagi Prefecture in northeastern Honshū, which is Japan's main island.[2] The name comes from the historical region of Sanriku (lit. "three riku"), referring to the former provinces of Rikuō, Rikuchū and Rikuzen.[3]
There are the Tanesashi Coast, the Rikuchu Kaigan National Park and the Minami-Sanriku Kinkazan Quasi-National Park in the Sanriku Coast region.[4]
See main article: Seismicity of the Sanriku coast.
See also: Sanriku earthquake (disambiguation).
The bays of this ria coastline tend to amplify the destructiveness of tsunami waves.[5] Significant events which devastated coastal communities include:
Prior to 2011, the tsunami history of Sanriku might have been interpreted as a story of progressively fewer casualties due to human intervention and planning. The 2011 disaster created a new baseline for analysis of regularly occurring tsunamis.[7]
. Tsunamis: Case Studies and Recent Developments. Kenji Satake. 2005. Advances in Natural and Technological Hazards Research (Book 23). Springer. 1402033265. 99.