The Abukuma River (阿武隈川), with a length of 234 km, is the second longest river in the Tōhoku region of Japan and the 6th longest river in the country. It is designated as a Class A river. It runs through Fukushima Prefecture and Miyagi Prefecture, rising from springs in the peaks of the Nasu mountains, collecting water from tributaries leaving the Ōu Mountains and the Abukuma Highlands, then emptying into the Pacific Ocean as a major river. Its watershed has a 5400 km2 area, and about 1.36 million people live in its basin. The Abukuma River flows north through Fukushima Prefecture's Nakadōri region, past the cities of Shirakawa, Sukagawa, Kōriyama, Nihonmatsu, Date, and Fukushima. The portion of the river flowing between Nihonmatsu and Fukushima forms a deep ravine called. Crossing the northern edge of the long but low Abukuma hills, the Abukuma River then flows into Miyagi Prefecture, past the city of Kakuda and between Iwanuma and Watari before reaching the Pacific. Abukuma has a tributary called the Arakawa River.