is a
Class A river in
Hokkaidō
is Japan's second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel.
The la ...
,
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 flows through
Hiyama District, and empties into the
Sea of Japan
The Sea of Japan is the marginal sea between the Japanese archipelago, Sakhalin, the Korean Peninsula, and the mainland of the Russian Far East. The Japanese archipelago separates the sea from the Pacific Ocean. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it h ...
.
It is the only Class A river in Southern Hokkaidō, and thus is considered to be extremely important for agriculture and
flood control
Flood control methods are used to reduce or prevent the detrimental effects of flood waters."Flood Control", MSN Encarta, 2008 (see below: Further reading). Flood relief methods are used to reduce the effects of flood waters or high water level ...
.
The river has been voted the "Cleanest River in Japan" by the
(MLIT) 10 times between 1987 and 2006.
Geography
The Shiribeshi-Toshibetsu river originates from the ridge between
Mount Taihei and
Mount Oshamambe-dake
Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest.
Mount or Mounts may also refer to:
Places
* Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England
* Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, C ...
. Its catchment area is and its stream length is . The river flows through
Imakane,
Setana
is a town located in Hiyama Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan.
As of September 2016, the town has an estimated population of 8,501, and a density of 13 persons per km². The total area is 638.67 km².
Geography
Setana is located on the northe ...
. and
Kitahiyama, Hokkaido
was a town located in Setana District, Hiyama Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan.
As of 2004, the town had an estimated population of 5,908 and a density of 15.59 persons per km2. The total area was 379.03 km2.
On September 1, 2005, Kitahiyam ...
.
Climate
The basin is located at the northern limit of the
temperate climate
In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout t ...
and is relatively warm due to the influence of the
Tsushima Current
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 ...
moving northward across the Sea of Japan.
Origin of name
The name ''Shiribeshi-Toshibetsu'' was formed by adding the word ''Shiribeshi'' to distinguish the river from the Toshibetsu River in
Tokachi Subprefecture
is a subprefecture of Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan corresponding to the old province of Tokachi.Rowthorn, Chris. (2009) ''Japan,'' p. 641 As of 2004, its estimated population is 360,802 and its area is 10,830.99 km2.
Tokachi-Obihiro Airpor ...
.
Shiribeshi was the name of a province which existed between 1869 and 1882. The name ''Toshibetsu'' is thought to originate from the
Ainu
Ainu or Aynu may refer to:
*Ainu people, an East Asian ethnic group of Japan and the Russian Far East
*Ainu languages, a family of languages
**Ainu language of Hokkaido
**Kuril Ainu language, extinct language of the Kuril Islands
**Sakhalin Ainu la ...
words ''toshu betsu'', meaning 'meandering river', or ''to ushi betsu'', meaning 'river with many marshes'.
References
Rivers of Hokkaido
Rivers of Japan
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