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Map of Irimote Island and the other Yaeyama Islands

Iriomote from space, August 1991

Iriomote (西表島 Iriomote-jima; Yaeyama: Irimutī 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.

[edit] Geography and climate

Iriomote has a subtropical marine climate. The average yearly temperature is 23.4°C (74.1°F), and the average monthly temperature ranges from 17.6°C (63.7°F) in January to 28.4°C (83.1°F) in July. Iriomote has a typhoon season that, on average, runs from June to September.

Most of the island is covered by dense subtropical 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 / 24.558; 124.00 (Iriomotejima)) 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 iriomotensis; Japanese: 西表山猫 Iriomote-yamaneko), an endangered nocturnal wildcat found only on Iriomote and considered by some to be its own species. There are estimated to be only about 100 Iriomote cats left in the wild.

The island has a venomous snake — Trimeresurus flavoviridis, 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%.^[1]

[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, some 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; independence was granted on 17 June 1972.

[edit] Economy

Apart from tourism, the island economy is sustained by agricultural production, primarily of pineapple, and fishing.

[edit] See also

Iriomote Cat

[edit] References

^ US Navy (1991) Poisonous Snakes of the World, US Government, New York: Dover Publications Inc., 203 pp., ISBN 0-486-26629-X

[edit] Gallery

Urauchi-gawa: The Urauchi River - the longest river in Okinawa.	Mariyudō-no-taki: The Mariyudö waterfall on the Urauchi River.	Kampire-no-taki: A section of the Kampire waterfall on the Urauchi River.	Pinaisara-no-taki: The Pinaisara waterfall on the north of the island.
Mangrove: Mangrove on the Nakama River	Sakishimasuou tree: Said to be the biggest and oldest mangrove tree in Japan.	Hoshizuna-no-hama: People looking for star sand on Star Sand Beach.	Star sand: Star sand on Hoshizuna-no-hama.