Goshiki-numa formed when Mount Bandai erupted in 1888, destroying dozens of villages and killing approximately 500 people while creating hundreds of lakes and tarns.The eruption completely rearranged the landscape, creating the Bandai-kogen plateau and damming local rivers. The eruption imparted mineral deposits to the Five Colored Lakes giving each of them their own delicate color, ranging from reddish green to cobalt blue.