is a bay in

Iwate Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. It is the second-largest Japanese prefecture at , with a population of 1,210,534 (as of October 1, 2020). Iwate Prefecture borders Aomori Prefecture to the north, Akita Prefectur ...

, in the northern

Tōhoku region The , Northeast region, or consists of the northeastern portion of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. This traditional region consists of six prefectures (''ken''): Akita, Aomori, Fukushima, Iwate, Miyagi, and Yamagata. Tōhoku retains a ...

of northern

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. It is a long and narrow, roughly triangular body of water extending southwest to northeast where it opens to the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

. The forms its southern border and forms its southern border. This gives it an area of approximately . Miyako Bay is approximately long, with a width of at its mouth. The bay has an average depth of 20-40 meters, with a maximum depth of . Economically, the shallow waters of the bay are an important fishery, with shellfish and seaweed cultivation and

aquaculture Aquaculture (less commonly spelled aquiculture), also known as aquafarming, is the controlled cultivation ("farming") of aquatic organisms such as fish, crustaceans, mollusks, algae and other organisms of value such as aquatic plants (e.g. lot ...

benefiting from nutrients brought into the almost enclosed waters of the bay the Hei River and the effects of the offshore

Kuroshio The , also known as the Black or or the is a north-flowing, warm ocean current on the west side of the North Pacific Ocean basin. It was named for the deep blue appearance of its waters. Similar to the Gulf Stream in the North Atlantic, the K ...

and Oyashio currents. Tourism is also economically important, as parts of the bay are within the borders of the Sanriku Fukkō National Park, including the scenic

Jōdogahama (''lit.'' 'Pure Land Beach') is a series of rock formations along the coast of Miyako Bay in the city of Miyako, Iwate Prefecture, in the Tōhoku region of northern Japan. The area is part of the Sanriku Fukkō National Park, and is a national ...

coastline. The Port of Miyako serves as the main seaport for the city of

Morioka is the capital city of Iwate Prefecture located in the Tōhoku region of northern Japan. On 1 February 2021, the city had an estimated population of 290,700 in 132,719 households, and a population density of . The total area of the city is . ...

Gallery

File:Miyako Bay, Jodogahama and central Miyako City from Gassan.jpg, Miyako Bay, Jōdogahama and central Miyako City from Gassan File:Jōdogahama 07.jpg, Jōdogahama File:US Navy 110320-M-0145H-063 A large ferry boat rests inland amidst destroyed houses after a 9.0 earthquake and subsequent tsunami struck Japan March.jpg, A large ferry boat rests inland amidst destroyed houses after a 9.0 earthquake and subsequent tsunami struck Japan March

References

Bays of Japan Tourist attractions in Iwate Prefecture Landforms of Iwate Prefecture Miyako, Iwate {{Iwate-geo-stub