Japan Hydrography and World Heritage Sites

By | September 23, 2021

HYDROGRAPHY

In relation to the conformation of the islands and the highly fragmented orography, the hydrographic network of Japan lacks extensive basins. The main rivers develop in the Honshū; the Tone, which drains the central section of the island extending its basin on the Kantō plain , and the Kitakami, while the Shinano descends to the Sea of ​​Japan, pay tribute to the Pacific. Unlike these and a few others that develop their basins in longitudinal valleys, such as the Ishitaki and the Teshio, in the Hokkaidō, the rest of the Japanese rivers have more or less direct courses between the watershed and the coast, towards which they maintain a normal direction. We understand how their role, in the geography of Japan, is rather modest. Their courses, youthful in the inland mountainous areas, near the coast extend into the alluvial plains, becoming elements of demographic attraction. They have no importance for the purposes of navigation in a country like Japan all over the coasts; on the other hand they all have more or less immature courses.

On the whole, their regime is rather regular. The power is provided mainly by precipitation which, while having maximums in different periods passing from one region to another, is not lacking in almost any month of the year. In general, however, it rains mainly in summer and autumn in the southwestern section of the archipelago, while in the north-eastern section the abundant winter snowfalls cause spring floods. If the Japanese rivers are of little importance as axes of human attraction, they nevertheless have a fundamental role as water sources for irrigation. Most of the irrigated rice fields (approx. 68%) exploit the river waters, especially in the coastal plains, which represent the main agricultural areas of the country. The springs are rich and numerous throughout Japan, including thermal and thermo-mineral springs, linked to the volcanic nature of the islands. while in the north-east the abundant winter snowfalls cause spring floods. If the Japanese rivers are of little importance as axes of human attraction, they nevertheless have a fundamental role as water sources for irrigation. Most of the irrigated rice fields (approx. 68%) exploit the river waters, especially in the coastal plains, which represent the main agricultural areas of the country. The springs are rich and numerous throughout Japan, including thermal and thermo-mineral springs, linked to the volcanic nature of the islands. while in the north-east the abundant winter snowfalls cause spring floods. If the Japanese rivers are of little importance as axes of human attraction, they nevertheless have a fundamental role as water sources for irrigation. Most of the irrigated rice fields (approx. 68%) exploit the river waters, especially in the coastal plains, which represent the main agricultural areas of the country. The springs are rich and numerous throughout Japan, including thermal and thermo-mineral springs, linked to the volcanic nature of the islands. which represent the main agricultural areas of the country. The springs are rich and numerous throughout Japan, including thermal and thermo-mineral springs, linked to the volcanic nature of the islands. which represent the main agricultural areas of the country. The springs are rich and numerous throughout Japan, including thermal and thermo-mineral springs, linked to the volcanic nature of the islands.

Japan Hydrography and World Heritage Sites

World Heritage Sites in Japan

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World Heritage Sites (K) and World Natural Heritage (N)

  • Castle “Castle of the White Heron” in Himeji on Honshū (K; 1993)
  • Buddhist shrines of Horyuji (K; 1993)
  • Yakushima Cedar Forest (N; 1993)
  • Beech forest by Shirakami (N; 1993)
  • Monuments and gardens of the Imperial City of Kyoto (K; 1994)
  • Traditional folk architecture of the villages of Shirakawa and Gokayama (K; 1995)
  • Memorial »Atomic Bomb Dome« in Hiroshima (K; 1996)
  • Itsukushima Shrine at Miyajima (K; 1996)
  • Architectural monuments and gardens of the imperial city of Nara (K; 1998)
  • Shrines and Temples of Nikko (K; 1999)
  • Archaeological sites of the former Ryukyu Kingdom on the Ryukyu Islands with the Gusuku castles (K; 2000)
  • Holy places and pilgrimage routes in the Kii Mountains (K; 2004)
  • Shiretoko National Park on Hokkaidō (N; 2005)
  • Iwami Ginzan silver mine and cultural landscape on Honshū (K; 2007)
  • Ogasawara Islands (N; 2011)
  • Buddhist facilities from Hiraizumi (K; 2011)
  • Fuji volcano on Honshū (K; 2013)
  • Silk spinning mill in Tomioka (K; 2014)
  • Sites of the industrial revolution in the Meiji period (K; 2015)
  • National Museum of Western Art by Le Corbusier in Tokyo (K; 2016)
  • Okinoshima Sacred Island and related sites in Munakata Region (K; 2017)
  • Hidden Christian Sites in the Nagasaki Region (K; 2018)