Iōtorishima

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Aerial view of the Island.

Iōtorishima or Iwo Tori-shima (Japanese 硫黄鳥島; Romaji: Iwo Torishima; Literal; "sulfur bird island"), or Okinawa Torishima ( 沖縄鳥島 ) is a volcanic island part of the Ryūkyū Island chain with the only[1] active volcano in Okinawa Prefecture.

Geography[]

Iotourishima is located 65 km west of Tokunoshima Island. On exceptionally clear days, Iōtorishima can be seen from the west coast of Tokunoshima.

The 2.50 km²[2] large island consists of two interconnected volcanoes made from andesite. The southern Gusuku kazan ( グ ス ク 火山 , "Castle Volcano") is a lava dome located in the center of the two summits. The northern Iōdake-kazan ( 硫黄 岳 火山 , "Sulfur Peak Volcano") is a stratovolcano whose crater consists of a small lake of sulfur. It is still active, although none of the recent outbreaks had explosive character.[3][4] The highest point of the island is at 212 m, which belongs to Iōdake-kazan; the highest of the Gusuku kazan is the Maedake ( 前 嶽 ) at 189.3 m.[5]

History[]

Sulfur was mined by the inhabitants for centuries[1] within the Kingdom of Ryukyu, and it was used as tribute to the Chinese Empire.[6]

The first recorded eruption was in 1664, when a woman died from a landslide.[7] In a series of eruptions and earthquakes from March to August 1903, all residents were temporarily moved 220 km to Kume Island, but were permanently relocated by June 1958; the final settlement had 86 inhabitants. Since then, the island has been uninhabited. In July 1968 there was another eruption.

Administratively, the island belonged to Gushikawa on Kume-jima, but merged in 2002 with Nakazato to the city Kumejima.

See Also[]

External links[]

Commons: Io-Torishima  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files relating to the island.

References[]

  1. ^ a b "Creating a cadastral map of Iwo-Tori-shima". Ryukyu Shimpo - Okinawa, Japanese newspaper, local news. Retrieved 2019-02-07.
  2. ^ "島しょ別面積／沖縄県". www.pref.okinawa.jp. Retrieved 2019-02-07.
  3. ^ "Io-Torishima". Global Volcanism Program. Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 2021-06-24.
  4. ^ "硫黄鳥島｜海域火山データベース｜海上保安庁　海洋情報部". www1.kaiho.mlit.go.jp. Retrieved 2019-02-07.
  5. ^ "地理院地図". maps.gsi.go.jp. Retrieved 2019-02-07.
  6. ^ "Relocation of Tori Shima Range to Iwo-Tori-shima". Ryukyu Shimpo - Okinawa, Japanese newspaper, local news. Retrieved 2019-02-07.
  7. ^ Information (NCEI), National Centers for Environmental. "Resource Removed | NCEI". www.ngdc.noaa.gov. Retrieved 2019-02-07.

Coordinates: 27°52′16″N 128°13′37″E / 27.8711°N 128.2269°E / 27.8711; 128.2269

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