Iriomote
Iriomote (西表島 Iriomote-jima, Yaeyama: Irimutii; Okinawan: Iriumuti) is the largest of the Yaeyama Islands and the second largest in Okinawa Prefecture after Okinawa Island itself.
The island has an area of 289 km². The total population is less than 2,000, and infrastructure is limited to a single coastal road connecting the hamlets on the northern and eastern shores. The island does not have an airstrip, and most visitors—over 150,000 in 2003—arrive from Ishigaki by ferry. Administratively the island belongs to Taketomi Town, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan.
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[edit] Geography and climate
Iriomote belongs to tropical rainforest climate (Af). The average yearly temperature is 23.4°C (74.1°F), and the average monthly temperature ranges from 18.5°C (65.3°F) in January to 28.4°C (83.1°F) in July. The average annual rainfall of Iriomote is around 2,500mm. Iriomote has a typhoon season that, on average, runs from June to September.
90% of the island is covered by dense jungle and mangrove swamps. 80% of the island is protected state land, and 34.3% of the island forms the Iriomote National Park. The highest point on the island is Mt. Komi (古見岳 Komidake) at 470 meters. Around 21 km northwest (24°33′29″N 124°00′00″E / 24.558°N 124.00°E) of Iriomote is an active undersea volcano which last erupted in 1924; the summit is 200 m below sea level.
[edit] Wildlife
The island is famed for the Iriomote Cat (Prionailurus bengalensis iriomotensis), a Critically Endangered wild cat found only on Iriomote. The population size is estimated to be fewer than 250 adult individuals.[1] In Japanese the cat is called 西表山猫 Iriomote-yamaneko.
The island has a venomous snake—Trimeresurus elegans, known locally as the habu, is a species of pitviper whose bite has a fatality rate of 3% and a permanent disability rate of 6–8%.[2]
[edit] Culture
The Iriomote dialect of the Yaeyama language is spoken by some people on the island.
[edit] History
Until the end of World War II, Iriomote was largely uninhabited due to its infestation by malaria. It was used primarily as agricultural land to grow rice. Additionally, during the war some residents of Ishigaki were forcibly made to take refuge in Iriomote, many of whom contracted malaria.
After the war, the US Forces in Japan eradicated malaria from the island, and the island has been malaria-free since.
The island, together with the rest of Okinawa Prefecture, remained a US-controlled territory until 1972. Iriomote was returned to Japan on 17 June 1972.
[edit] Economy
Apart from tourism, the island economy is sustained by agricultural production, primarily of pineapple, sugarcane, mango, and fishing.
[edit] Gallery
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Tudumari-no-hama (Tsukigahama Beach)
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Urauchi-gawa: the longest river in Okinawa.
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Mariyudō-no-taki: Waterfall on the Urauchi River.
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Kampire-no-taki: A section of the Kampire waterfall on the Urauchi River.
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Pinaisara-no-taki: Waterfall on the north of the island.
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Mangrove on the Nakama River
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Sakishimasuou tree: Said to be the biggest and oldest mangrove tree in Japan.
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Hoshizuna-no-hama (Star Sand Beach): Beachcombers looking for star-shaped sand grains.
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Star sand from Hoshizuna-no-hama: Abraded calcium-carbonate tests of foraminifers from nearby reefs.[3]
[edit] References
- ^ Izawa, M. (2008). "Prionailurus bengalensis ssp. iriomotensis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. International Union for Conservation of Nature. http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/18151.
- ^ U.S. Navy (1991). Poisonous Snakes of the World. New York: Dover Publications Inc. ISBN 0-486-26629-X.
- ^ Hohenegger, J., Larger foraminifera as important calcium-carbonate producers in coral reef environments and constituting the main components of carbonate beach sands; examples from the Ryukyu archipelago. Institut für Paläontologie, Universität Wien.
