was a
town
A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world.
Origin and use
The word "town" shares an o ...
located in
Abashiri District, Abashiri Subprefecture (now
Okhotsk Subprefecture
is a subprefecture of Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan. It was renamed from the earlier Abashiri Subprefecture on April 1, 2010. Abashiri Subprefecture was established in 1897.
Etymology
Abashiri Prefecture was named after the subprefectural offic ...
),
Hokkaido
is Japan, Japan's Japanese archipelago, second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost Prefectures of Japan, prefecture, making up its own List of regions of Japan, region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; th ...
,
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 n ...
.
As of 2004, the town had an estimated
population
Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction usi ...
of 5,925 and a
population density
Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopu ...
of 37.26 persons per km². The total area was 159.02 km².
On March 31, 2006, Memanbetsu was merged with the village of
Higashimokoto (also from
Abashiri District) to create the new town of
Ōzora.
Memanbetsu's name was derived from the Ainu "Memanpet" meaning "River with a spring"
Transportation
In the area of the former town,
Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido) operates two stations along the
Sekihoku Line:
*
Memambetsu Station
*
Nishi-Memambetsu Station
Both are named after the former town.
Memanbetsu Airport is named after the former town.
History
*1890 – Establishment of timber harvesting for the purpose of supplying the match manufacturing industry
*1898 – Agriculture begins, bringing the first extensive settlement of the area
*1912 – With the opening of Memambetsu station on the new railway line between Kitami and Abashiri large numbers of settlers begin arriving and a small village begins to develop
*April 1921 – Memanbetsu is administratively separated from
Abashiri City
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
and accorded official village status
*April 1951 – Memanbetsu is accorded official town status
*31 March 2006 – Memanbetsu Town is merged with
Higashimokoto Village (also in Abashiri District) to form the new town of
Ōzora
Climate
References
External links
Internet Archive of Memanbetsu's website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Memanbetsu, Hokkaido
Dissolved municipalities of Hokkaido