Melissa Blake, age 15, of Chattanooga, Tenn., for her question:

HOW HIGH IS FUJIYAMA?

Fujiyama is the highest mountain in Japan. Also called Fuji, the mountain rises in a cone to a height of 12,389 feet above sea level, with the apex broken by a cone shaped crater that measures 2,000 feet in diameter.

Fujiyama is a celebrated sacred volcano. According to a legend, the mountain arose from the plain during a single night in 282 B. C. The most recent recorded eruption of Fujiyama lasted from Nov. 24, 1707 until Jan. 22, 1708.

The south slopes of rujiyama extend to the shore of Suruga Bay. It is located on Honshu Island, not too far from Tokyo. The isolated peak can be seen from many of Japans outlying regions.

The mountain is incorporated in Fuji Hakone Izu National Park.

As a sacred mountain in Japan, it is visited annually by thousands of pilgrims from ail parts of the country. Many shrines and temples are on its slopes. The mountain figures frequently in Japanese literature and art.