Map of Irimote Island and the other Yaeyama Islands

Iriomote from space, August 1991

Iriomote (西表島 Iriomote-jima) is the largest of the Yaeyama Islands and the second largest in Okinawa Prefecture after Okinawa Island itself. Image File history File links Yaeyama_map. ... Image File history File links Yaeyama_map. ... ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (640x640, 141 KB) Iriomote Island, Ryukyu Islands - August 1991 image description here File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (640x640, 141 KB) Iriomote Island, Ryukyu Islands - August 1991 image description here File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Map of the Yaeyama Islands The Yaeyama Islands (八重山諸島 Yaeyama-shotō) are an archipelago in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. ... “Okinawa” redirects here. ... Okinawa Island (沖縄本島 Okinawa-hontō, the main island of Okinawa) is the largest of the Ryukyu Islands at the edge of the East China Sea, helping to define the seas boundary with the open Pacific Ocean. ...

Despite its having an area of 289 km² the island's 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 District, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. Ishigaki (石垣市; -shi) is a city located in Okinawa, Japan. ... Taketomi (竹富町; -chō) is a town located in Yaeyama district, Okinawa, Japan. ... “Okinawa” redirects here. ...

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.

90% 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. Subtropical (or semitropical) areas are those adjacent to the tropics, usually roughly defined as the ranges 23. ... Above and below water view at the edge of the mangal. ... Iriomote National Park (西表国立公園 Iriomote-kokuritsukōen) is a national park of Japan, situated on Iriomote Island in the Yaeyama Islands of the East China Sea. ...

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. Trinomial name Prionailurus bengalensis iriomotensis The Iriomote Cat (Prionailurus bengalensis iriomotensis, Felis bengalensis iriomotensis or Mayailurus iriomotensis; Japanese: 西表山猫 Iriomote-yamaneko), is a subspecies of leopard cat that lives exclusively on the Japanese island of Iriomote. ...

Culture

The Iriomote dialect of the Yaeyama language is spoken by some on the island. Yaeyama is a language spoken by around 44650 people in the Yaeyama islands south of the Miyako area of the Ryukyus. ...

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. Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... Malaria is a vector-borne infectious disease caused by protozoan parasites. ... Ishigaki (石垣市; -shi) is a city located in Okinawa, Japan. ...

After the war, the US Forces in Japan eradicated malaria from the island, and the island has been malaria free since. Apart from tourism, the island economy is sustained by agricultural production, primarily of pineapple, and fishing. United States Forces Japan (USFJ, Japanese: 在日米軍) refers to the various divisions of the United States Armed Forces that are stationed in Japan. ... For other uses, see Pineapple (disambiguation). ...

See also

• Iriomote Cat

Trinomial name Prionailurus bengalensis iriomotensis The Iriomote Cat (Prionailurus bengalensis iriomotensis, Felis bengalensis iriomotensis or Mayailurus iriomotensis; Japanese: 西表山猫 Iriomote-yamaneko), is a subspecies of leopard cat that lives exclusively on the Japanese island of Iriomote. ...

Gallery

Urauchi-gawa: The Urauchi River - the longest river in Okinawa. Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2048 × 1536 pixel, file size: 811 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Urauchi River, Iriomote, Okinawa. ...	Mariyudō-no-taki: The Mariyudö waterfall on the Urauchi River. Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2592 × 1944 pixel, file size: 1. ...	Kampire-no-taki: A section of the Kampire waterfall on the Urauchi River. Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2592 × 1944 pixel, file size: 1. ...	Pinaisara-no-taki: The Pinaisara waterfall on the north of the island. Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 450 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1944 × 2592 pixel, file size: 1. ...
Mangrove: Mangrove on the Nakama River Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2592 × 1944 pixel, file size: 1. ...	Sakishimasuou tree: Said to be the biggest and oldest mangrove tree in Japan. Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 398 × 599 pixelsFull resolution (2000 × 3008 pixel, file size: 5. ...	Hoshizuna-no-hama: People looking for star sand on Star Sand Beach. Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2592 × 1944 pixel, file size: 1. ...	Star sand: Star sand on Hoshizuna-no-hama. Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2592 × 1944 pixel, file size: 1. ...

External links

• Iriomote travel guide from Wikitravel

Coordinates: 24°20′N, 123°48′E Wikitravel is a project to create an open content, complete, up-to-date, and reliable world-wide travel guide. ... Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ...